The Grimm-Slaying Blade Works
by Madgamer2k7
Summary: At the climax of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Shirou finds himself unwillingly pulled into another world, one filled with dark soulless creatures. With only his blades and the help of three fellow warriors, he must defend his new-found home from enemies, both new and old.
1. Chapter One: A Grimm Beginning

_The Grimm-Slaying Blade Works_

Chapter One – A Grimm Beginning

Grimm, creatures of the dark whose sole purpose appear to be the eradication of all mankind. Soulless, evil, and omnipresent, Grimm are attracted to sources of negative emotion. This endless horde of darkness will snuff out every speck of light until Remnant returns what has lain forgotten for all these years, fear. So send your heroes, watch them fall, as the world is reclaimed by shadows.

Now wait a minute. I'm not saying I'm a true hero, but aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? As a hero of justice, there is absolutely no way I'll this happen. As long as I remain standing, I won't let anyone come to harm. I _will_ save everyone. So send your army. My blades are ready. Do you have enough Grimm?

-o-

A rain of broken blades crashed all around us. The sounds of sword strikes echoed through the dusty air amidst a flurry of action. Parry. Dodge. Strike. Our swords met in a shower of sparks.

With a low groan, the sword shattered in my hands, only to be replaced moments later, just in time to intercept shining steel.

"Mongrel! You! Faker! You dare destroy my treasures!" His face flashed with anger and a hint of fear. Despite his advantage in strength and power, the golden Servant was being pushed back with each blow. His weapons shattered like mine with each parry. However, unlike his, mine were replaceable.

"This is impossible! Your inferior trash should be no match for my weapons!" He continued, sputtering in indignation.

"Nowhere was it said that the copy cannot surpass the original," I replied. My weapons may have been degraded compared to his, but if fighting with Saber had taught me anything, it was that Prana Burst solved all kinds of problems. But he didn't need to know that.

The air began to stir behind him. His face darkened and his features hardened. This definitely couldn't be good. I knew what he was going to do. Unfortunately for him, it was too late. He didn't seem to realize that my Unlimited Blade Works was faster than his Gates of Babylon.

An aura of darkness emerged behind him, and a golden hilt rose out of it. He reached back and grasped the handle and began to pull. Ea, the World Destroyer, was coming out to play.

"I'm not going to let you," I breathed as I sprang at him. His face turned in surprise, but it was already too late. With a sickening squelch, his arm fell uselessly to the ground, Ea disappearing back into the Gates.

"You! I wi-", he was cut off as I plunged my sword into his chest. He stumbled and fell back, landing on his side.

I had done it. I had defeated him, Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, the King of Heroes. I felt the walls of my Reality Marble come crashing down, all my energy spent.

"Shirou!" A voice called out behind me. It was Rin, trailed by Saber. The young magus cried out, "Are you alright?"

I turned to answer, but a terrible noise erupted, drowning out all else in the courtyard.

"No! You can't take me! Not like this!" The slain Heroic Spirit shouted angrily in despair as tendrils of darkness shot out from a newly formed black portal, dripping with malevolence. The Corrupted Grail was claiming yet another unfortunate soul.

He struggled helplessly, clawing at the ground, grasping for anything to save himself. He almost seemed to give up, but then a chain shot out from behind him. It knocked me over and wrapped around my leg, pulling me along the ground. Rin and Saber both cried out reaching for me, but to no avail.

"If I'm going to die, mongrel, then I'm taking you with me!" His strained voice cracked as his sanity began to slip. He was fully inside the portal now, his descent only barely slowed from dragging me. As I slid into the entrance of the portal, black sludge fell and splashed on my arm.

Hate. Hate. HATE. Why don't you just die? Die. Die. DIE. Death. Evil. Torture. Rape. Suffering. All of it. WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE? I HATE YOU!

My mind was assaulted with voices, images, each one stabbing into my mind like white hot nails. This was Angra Mainyu, the Persian god of darkness, the one who corrupted the grail. All the hate, the suffering and weakness all collected and concentrated into one being. Was this what my father experienced in the last years of his life? On that note, Gilgamesh had actually bathed in this muck to regain his body. What did that say about his personality and sanity?

"Saber, I comm-," Rin's faint voice was cut off as the portal closed behind me. The world grew dark, and even Gilgamesh's insane ramblings were drowned out in silence. He was still there, I could feel him tugging on the chain, yet somehow it felt as if his existence was melting, fading away.

Was this how I was going to die too? My mind and body dissolved and diluted into nothingness? I couldn't accept that. Archer be damned, I was going to become a hero, no matter what the white-haired prick said. Unlike him, I won't become jaded and cynical. It's never wrong to want to help someone, to save someone.

"I can't let it end this way. I want to become a hero. I want to be where I'm needed," I muttered to myself. Was Kotomine right after all? Was I so selfish that I wished for conflict just to be a hero?

"I hear your words. Your wish is my command," an eerie disembodied voice echoed around me. It couldn't be. Saber and Rin should've destroyed the Grail by now. I could feel a faint tug on my body as the world began to light up again.

No. No. No. This couldn't be happening. After all our work, the Grail was still functioning. A terror grew in the pit of my stomach. What if the events of 10 years ago repeated themselves? I should have just kept my stupid mouth shut.

The world continued increasing in brightness, energy humming all throughout. I vaguely felt the chain around my leg slacken before I felt a violent tug from my navel, and the world became white.

-o-

"Sir, I feel that something is not quite right with that last candidate," a bespectacled woman commented while looking down at her device. She continued, "While his transcripts are good, his skills seems to say otherwise."

A grey-haired man drank from his mug as he stared out over the forest. His lips pursed, as if to say something in response, but instead took another sip of coffee.

"Hang on. I'm getting some interference on my Scroll," the woman frowned as she tapped at her device in irritation. Her face changed to confusion as she looked down more carefully at the screen. She then looked back at her companion saying, "There's nothing wrong with my Scroll. Ozpin, there seems to be a strange disturbance in Sector 3. All the Grimm in the area are flocking towards it. We should stop the test and figure out what this is."

The man paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. Continuing to watch out over the horizon, he responded, "No, let the test continue. Send some drones out to monitor this disturbance, but otherwise do not interfere with the test."

"But Ozpin, what if one of the students stumbles onto it? Miss Nikos only landed a few hundred meters from there," she replied with worry.

"A part of being a Huntress involves dealing with the unknown and improvising. You should know that better than anyone, Glynda," the man calmly said, before tilting his head towards her. "But if the disturbance turns out to be something truly dangerous, well, that's why we are here."

Her expression pacified, though seeds of worry were still evident in her body language. However, she refrained from speaking, and commanded three drones to survey the area.

-o-

My head was pounding, vestiges of the mental assault by Angra Mainyu remained faintly in the back of my mind. Where was I?

I sat up and looked around. I appeared to be sitting in a lush grass field surrounded by a dense forest. This was a far cry from the empty blackness I had been swallowed in moments ago. As I stood up, something shiny slipped off my lap.

Clink.

It was a small broken golden chain. I guess Gilgamesh wasn't here with me. He would never dare to damage his precious chains. I picked up the shrunken broken chain and put it in my pocket. I may have already copied it into my Unlimited Blade Works, but it might be useful just to have.

As I brushed my pants off, I heard the bushes and grass rustle ominously. My muscles tensed as I pulled my hands back, ready to trace a pair of swords at a moment's notice.

A red-haired girl stepped out from behind a bush. She was wearing a set of armour reminiscent of what I imagined a Greek soldier might wear, except with generous amounts of cleavage exposed. Forget where I was, what time period was I in?

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" She asked with concern.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," I responded with a weak smile. Wait, was that even Japanese? Oh to hell with it, I didn't care at this point. It was probably something to do with the Grail anyway.

"Well, do you have a partner yet? I don't see anyone else around here," she spoke while glancing at our surroundings. She turned back to me and exclaimed, "If you don't have one yet, maybe we could become partners?"

"Partners?" My face flushed. She was quite beautiful, but wasn't it a little fast to talk about relationships already? We'd only just met!

Her smile brightened and her face lit up. "Great! It's decided then," she said happily.

She walked over and extended her hand. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos, but you can just call me Pyrrha. Let's go find that relic, partner."

Unsure about what to do, I grasped her hand and walked beside her. This was what couples did right? Her flushed expression seemed to confirm my thoughts.

"Hi, my name is Emi- Shirou," I corrected myself. This seemed to be a western culture, and the surname came last in western cultures, didn't it?

"W-Well Emishirow, you don't have to keep holding my h-hand," she sputtered out, red-faced.

Woops.

I let go of her hand immediately, feeling my ears burn with embarrassment. Maybe I had been a little too forward. Then again she was the one who asked to be partners.

Hang on. She got my name wrong.

"Ah sorry about that Pyrrha, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Also, my name is actually Shirou Emiya," I quickly blurted out.

"It's alright, but we-" she stopped short. I hadn't noticed until now, but in the midst of our conversation, it seemed the forest had come to life. The sounds of feet pounded nearby.

"I think we may need to continue this conversation later," Pyrrha said as she pulled the sword and shield off her back and faced the woods.

In the back of my mind, I heard a hammer strike. My circuits flooded with energy as I pulled my hands out to the side. Did I always have that much prana?

"Trace on"

A pair of black and white swords appeared in my hands. The black sword had red hexagonal patterns over top of a steel so black, it felt as if light itself was sucked in. The white sword lacked the hexagonal patterns, but instead had a cloudy white opal colour that seemed like it disperse light even in the absence of light.

Bakuya and Kanshou respectively, a marriage of swords, the ones used by the man in red. I may have hated him, but I was undeniably suited for his style of combat.

I felt Eye of Mind (true) activate and-

Wait I didn't have Eye of Mind. That was Archer.

'I want to become a hero'

Ah, that must've been it.

My thoughts were interrupted as a great black beast adorned with a white mask jump out from the dense foliage. The strongly increased perception afforded to me by Eye of Mind allowed me to effortlessly dodge its razor claws and promptly use its momentum to eviscerate it.

"Careful! A pack of Beowolves!" The red-haired Spartan called out, while never taking her eyes off of the approaching creatures.

She adjusted her grip on her sword as the blade flipped back, and it turned into a rifle. Wait a second, it's also a gun? Then again, I already knew that the moment I saw it in her back. It was still very surprising to see in practice.

She nailed one of the beasts between its unsettling red glowing eyes, before quickly transforming her weapon back into the sword form. The onslaught of dark creatures halted the moment it reached her.

I watched mesmerized as she spun, ducking under a swiping claw, while simultaneously slashing its owner with her sword and hitting another with the edge of her shield. Taking advantage of her angular momentum, she seamlessly kicked a third monster in the throat, while shooting a fourth.

I was so captivated that I almost missed the claw heading for my chest. I leapt backward and studied my opponent.

It was significantly larger than the others, easily three times the size of the one I killed earlier. It skulked around cautiously. Something felt off about this one. It seemed less mindless, less reliant on instinct. It had attacked me when I was distracted, didn't it? I had only been saved by Eye of Mind, my finely honed perception allowing me to avoid danger, almost mimicking precognition.

I approached it, Kanshou and Bakuya in hand. I swung at it with Bakuya, and it dodged the blow with relative ease. I then charged it feinting with Kanshou, then spinning to slice at its abdomen with Bakuya. It readily predicted my movements, countering with an impossibly fast jab at my chest. I Reinforced my chest as best I could before I was sent flying by the attack.

"Shirou!" The green-eyed beauty called out in worry when she saw me sprawled on the ground.

"I'm fine, just focus on the others," I managed to wheeze out through gritted teeth. Reinforcing my chest had allowed me from having my chest cavity gouged out or caved in, but it still hurt like hell.

This opponent was dangerous. Perhaps not nearly as dangerous as the Servants I had fought before, but still a danger nonetheless. It wasn't a mindless beast lead by instinct. It was a cold calculating instrument of death. Unfortunately for it, I could be one too.

It was large, powerful and deceptively agile. It could predict movements and attacks and plan accordingly. There were a few options available to me. I could attempt to use speed to sneak in and deliver a fatal blow, but given the beast's speed, the plan was risky, one false move, and I would receive a nasty or potentially fatal wound.

Alternatively I could match it blow for blow, using either a powerful weapon or Prana Burst to overpower the creature. The downside was that if I didn't have enough power or if there were more opponents after this one, I would be completely drained of energy and effectively defenseless.

My last option was surprise. This was an enemy that could think, could plan ahead, meaning it had expectations. Taking it by surprise would disrupt its thinking, making its planning skills momentarily useless. This was the tactic most likely to succeed, after all, it worked on the King of Heroes. I also knew the exact move I needed to pull it off, and it was meant to be utilised with pair of married swords I was wielding.

I charged at the large Beowolf again. It stood on its hind paws ready to meet me. This time, I threw both my swords at it in a wide arc. The monster dodged the spinning blades and came at me. Its claws descended towards me, ready to rip into a new meal, when suddenly they were halted by a familiar pair of swords.

I gripped the newly traced Kanshou and Bakuya and deflected the claw strikes. The Beowolf regained its composure enough to parry my next set of slashes and stabs. It managed to knock the swords out of my hands and sent a jab at my neck.

Thunk! Thunk! The sound of flesh being penetrated and ripped apart filled the air. The Beowolf stumbled mid-jab as a pair swords embedded in its back. Not wasting a second, I traced a third set of the blades, Reinforcing their edges to the point that they became deformed and feather-like. Before the beast could react, I drove the jagged blades into its chest.

Under my breath, I whispered, "Crane Wing Three-Realm."

This technique, developed by the Counter Guardian Emiya, takes advantage of the magnetic properties of the swords, the fast trace time of the blades, as well as strategically rendering the target defenseless. By throwing the first pair of swords, the target is surprised by the change from a melee attack to a ranged one. In that moment of confusion a second pair of swords is quickly traced and used to attack. When the first pair of swords returns and hits the target, a third set is traced, the finisher. This third set is Reinforced to the point that the blade edges become jagged and feathery, resembling wings. With the first two attacks rendering the opponent defenseless either due to blocking the attacks or getting hit, the third attack cannot be stopped, resulting in heavy damage to the target.

The injured Beowolf howled in pain as it backpedalled away from me. It sprinted for the woods, attempting to retreat to safety. Not on my watch.

With a flick of my wrist, I traced my bow and raised it towards the retreating monster. A thin black spiral sword appeared in my hand. I poured prana into it, until it hummed dangerously with absolute energy. I notched it and took careful aim at the fleeing beast. With a whisper, I let it fly.

"Hrunting."

The sword transformed into a shining red bullet as it pierced the air, hungering for the flesh of its target. When it reached its mark, the Broken Phantasm erupted in a large explosion of energy, obliterating everything in its immediate vicinity. It seemed fitting, a Hrunting for the Beowolf.

With a satisfied smirk, I walked back over to Pyrrha, who had finished clearing out the rest of the small fry. She watched me with wide excited eyes. Uh oh.

"Shirou, that was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?" She asked with slight admiration.

Well I couldn't exactly just tell her the truth now, could I? I learned from a future version of myself during battles to the death with legendary heroes from the past. That just sounded ridiculous.

"Oh I picked some things up, here and there," I casually replied, though my voice cracked at the end. Issei was right. I _was_ a terrible liar. Judging from her face, she wasn't buying it either.

"Well if you say so," she said unconvinced, "Come on, let's go find the relic, now."

I still had no idea what she was talking about, but seeing as she seemed to be my only hope of finding civilization, I decided to play along.

"Uh, yeah. Let's go find it and, uh, do things with it." Stop talking Shirou, you're only managing to look like an idiot.

With a nod, she began walking, with me following closely behind. Speaking of behinds, hers was very shapely under tha-

Clean thoughts Shirou, we still need to make it out of this forest alive, not to mention how pissed Rin would be to...

Oh. I wondered if she was in this world. Unlikely, given what I had encountered so far. I pushed that sad thought to the back of my mind and focused on observing the surroundings.

Trees. Trees. More Trees.

Oh look a big rock.

And a pair a vibrant green eyes.

Wait.

"Why haven't you used your Aura to heal yourself?" She was looking down at my chest. Despite being reinforced, my chest still sported a couple of superficial scratches from the Beowulf attack.

Aura? What was that? Was it anything like healing magecraft?

"Aura?" I asked, trying not to sound too dumb.

"Yes, Aura, the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. You used it earlier to block an attack didn't you?" She explained.

Manifestation of the soul? That sounded suspiciously like the Third Magic. Oh wait, that was Materialization of the Soul. Also I couldn't exactly tell her I used Magecraft. There was that law about revealing Mage- Oh crap, I traced all those swords in front of her. Hopefully she wouldn't ask questions.

"So I've got a question about those swords of yours."

Damn it. My luck just wasn't holding up today.

-o-

"I think we're getting close, now. I can feel it," Pyrrha proclaimed confidently.

"The only thing I feel is cold and clammy," I replied sarcastically.

It was true though, the cave we were exploring was ridiculously humid, and it didn't help that our only source of heat was a dim torch. I had no idea what we were looking for, but I Reinforced my eyes to see further into the dark cave. Wait, did I see something glint over there?

"Hey Pyrrha, I think I found something over there," I said pointing in the direction I saw the glint.

As we moved closer, I was able to make out a strange gold object floating mid-air. Wait no, it was attached to something. Something long, and connected to...

I stopped walking.

"Whabfft-" Pyrrha began, but I stuffed my hand over her mouth to silence her. I pressed a finger to my lips, then pointed at the giant scorpion monster dozing only a few meters from us.

She squinted, trying to see further into the darkness, before she opened her eyes wide, and her face blanched white.

I motioned for her to head back out. We crept away carefully, trying not to wake the beast. That thing was even bigger than the Beowolf from earlier, plus it had armour, pincers and a stinger.

I carefully stepped over a pile of rocks and a looked ahead to find the exit.

Crash.

I turned around to see that my partner had stumbled over the rocks. Her face was frozen in a mixture of embarrassment and fear.

The creaks of jointed feet began to echo through the cave. A set of red eyes began to glow from inside the darkness. A loud rattle noise filled the cavern, as the scorpion turned its gaze onto us.

"Run."

There wasn't really a need for words, but I couldn't help but say it as we sprinted for the exit.

The cave collapsed around us as the scorpion chased us with reckless abandon, knocking down supporting wood frames, and gouging the hard stone with its stinger.

We burst out of the cave full speed, with the oversized arthropod hot on our heels.

"Head for the trees. Maybe that will slow it down," Pyrrha suggested helpfully.

We took off between the sturdy trunks, hoping to either buy some distance, or lose it completely. After a few minutes, we entered a clearing with some white pillars, the scorpion nowhere to be found. On top of small pillars were golden chess pieces.

"Those must be the relics!" Exclaimed Pyrrha. Wait, so she didn't know what they looked like either? Then what was the point of the relic?

She moved over to examine them. Lightly poking one of the knight pieces, she flinched when it wobbled a little.

"Which one do you want?" She looked at me expectantly.

"Why don't you pick?" I said as I nervously glanced at the forest. I could swear I heard something.

"I don't mind which one, I just wanted to know what you think," she hummed, now focused intently on the chess pieces.

"Pick the," I paused as an image of Saber appeared in my mind. I turned towards her and finished, "the knight. Pick the knight."

She plucked one of the knights from the pedestal and skipped over to me. Wait, there was that sound again. It almost sounded like there were people falling out of the sky. I glanced up. Oh.

A pair of dark haired girls landed right next to us. One wore a distinctive red hood over a black, red-frilled corset dress. She also appeared to be carrying a massive collapsible scythe on her back.

The other girl wore a black bow on her head, and a sleeveless shirt and vest combo along with pair of short-shorts and black and purple tights. She glanced disinterestedly back at me as I examined her.

The one in the red hood squealed and hopped up and down. "That was so much fun! I want to do it again!" She chirped energetically.

"Let's not." The girl with the black bow sighed, walking over to the chess pieces. "Ruby, I think these are the relics, which one should we pick?"

"Ooh pick the knight! I can just imagine it now. Adventures! Heroism! Oh how romantic!" The girl in red continued bubbling.

"A knight is more than just adventures and heroism. A knight is meant to define chivalry and honour." I interjected. Why did I do that? Perhaps it was the Saber in me, or perhaps it was the naiveté of the girl in front of me, but I just had to say something. Was this what it was like for Rin and Saber to listen to me talk about being a hero? The remark earned me the glances of all three of the girls present.

"And just what do you know about knights?" the girl in black responded pointedly.

"I met and became friends with one." I answered sheepishly.

"Really? What did he look like? Was he handsome? How many Grimm did he slay?" the hooded girl suddenly appeared in front of me. Whoa, how did she get here so quickly?

"Well, the knight was actually a woman, and she was actually very beautiful. As for Grimm…." I trailed off. I felt like Grimm was a term I was supposed to know, yet at the same time I had no idea what those were. Were they anything like the Beowolves and the scorpion we encountered earlier? Thinking on my feet, I quickly said, "She was the best swordsman I'd ever met."

The girl's eyes began to shine like stars, so I bid a hasty retreat behind my partner. She gave a warm smile to each of the girls and waved.

"Hello, nice to meet you two. My name is Pyrrha and this is my partner Shirou." She introduced the both us with a pleasant smile.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Blake and this excitable person is my partner Ruby." The stoic beauty responded. Ruby was still busy staring at me, eyes sparkling, no doubt lost in the grips of her imagination.

Our pleasantries were cut short by the arrival of another pair. With dark hair adorned with a streak of pink, a man dressed in green clothing, was accompanied by an orange haired girl carrying a massive hammer and sporting an equally massive grin. They rode in on another one of the massive black beasts. It collapsed, apparently spent before slowly dissolving into black mist.

"Aww I think it broke. Ooh Ren, are those the relics?" The short, boisterous girl leapt off the dissolving monster and sped past us towards the white pillars. She snatched one of the rooks and began dancing.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sang while prancing about. Her companion sighed, but didn't say a word as he walked to her side. She turned to greet him, but froze when she locked eyes with me.

Apparently remembering that there were indeed people here, she pulled her partner by the wrist, marching over to us.

"Helloooo~" She practically shouted as she approached. "I'm Nora and this quiet guy is Ren! What are your names?"

We quickly introduced ourselves, and Nora began animatedly chatting with Ren, who remained silent. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to find yet another pair walking towards us.

Unlike the others who arrived, these two were having a heated argument with each other. That blonde one really seemed to like shoving fists in things. I blinked. Clean thoughts Shirou, clean thoughts.

"Hellooo~" Nora's unmistakably loud voice rang out as she ran up to greet the two, oblivious of the pair's ire towards each other. The white haired one glared daggers at the boisterous girl, who either didn't notice or didn't care.

I decided to step back from all the excitement to examine the group of people before me. Their outfits seemed to come from all over the place, ranging from Pyrrha's Greek motif to Ren's Chinese attire. I wasn't going to be able to figure out where I was based on passive observation.

"A lot of people showed up all of a sudden," a soft voice commented from over my shoulder. Pyrrha stood behind me with a gentle smile on her face. I hadn't noticed until now, but she was actually fairly tall for a girl, easily a few inches taller than me.

I didn't answer her, but she seemed to accept my silence as she sat down on a nearby log. If I was ever going to ask someone a question, now would be the time.

"Pyrrha, where are we? And what are we supposed to be doing?" I asked, hoping not to sound too suspicious.

She looked at me surprised, but answered anyway. "You don't remember? We're in the Emerald Forest, although exactly where, I don't know. We were told to find our partners and retrieve a relic. Weren't you listening to Ozpin?"

Ozpin. He seemed to be the one in charge of this at least. I needed more information. Feigning shame, I shook my head.

"I guess I didn't hear him. Just who is Ozpin anyway? His name sounds familiar?" I replied smoothly. Damn I'm good.

"You mean you didn't know that he's the headmaster of this school?" She said, looking shocked.

Oh. Okay, maybe not that good. So these events were related to a school. Just what kind of school unleashed bloodthirsty monsters on its students?

"Well, this _is _Beacon,a school for training huntsmen and huntresses." she said with a huff. Woops did I say that last part out loud? At least I knew a bit more about overall situation.

"Sorry, I was just muttering to myself. Don't mind me." I smiled weakly, hoping she wouldn't get even more suspicious. It seemed to work as she rolled her eyes and looked away.

I felt it before I heard it, a low rumbling in the ground. Something heavy was approaching. Pyrrha stood straight up, weapons ready, looking around. Whatever it was, it had a lot of feet. Oh no...

With an explosion of wood chunks and splinters, the giant scorpion leaped out from the trees. The others had taken notice and had each drawn their weapons.

A loud screech pierced the air. I looked up to see a colossal bird swooping down onto us. It flapped its wings violently at the group, sending wave after wave of sharp feathers raining upon us.

Blake and Ruby deflected some as best they could, while the other four dodged the feathers and chased after the bird. A loud hiss sound reminded me that the scorpion was in fact still there.

Pyrrha and I raced towards the other two, the scorpion quickly scuttling after us. Blake and Ruby fired off shots at it, but its tough armour deflected and absorbed all the damage with minimal harm.

"Pyrrha, what can you tell me about this thing?" I panted as we continued sprinting.

"It's a Death Stalker. The pincers are extremely powerful and can easily crush boulders. The stinger contains an extremely potent venom, of which even a single drop is fatal. The armour is practically impervious to all but the strongest attacks, but there is a weak spot on the underside," she explained, finishing just as we reached the other two.

That was it. We could attack the underside, but as far as I could tell, the monster seemed to be pretty steady, if a little front-heavy. We'd need to flip it somehow, but that was going to be no easy task.

I glanced at each of the girls' weapons. Cracking a small smile I motioned for them to come closer. I had an idea.

-o-

Ruby sprinted as fast she could, occasionally using her semblance and rounds from Crescent Rose for speed boosts. The Death Stalker chased furiously after her. As she looked ahead, Ruby saw Blake standing ready, and leapt as high as she could disappearing amongst the branches and leaves.

The gargantuan scorpion redirected its attention towards the dark-haired beauty, but simply phased through her and hit a black ribbon which had been tied to a nearby tree. With its feet swept out, it staggered forward lifting its hind legs off the ground, but didn't flip over.

Pyrrha charged out from behind a tree and using her shield, bashed the back of the monster's tail upward. Blake reappeared, unharmed, and assisted Pyrrha in raising the monster's tail. This was enough for the scorpion's momentum to finally pull it onto its back.

A red blur shot up out of the canopy. Ruby held her arms around my chest as I turned downwards, bow ready. The retreating forms of both Pyrrha and Blake signaled for me to play my part.

"I am the bone of my sword,

Steel is my body, Fire is my blood."

A different spiral sword appeared in my hand. It looked as if a broadsword had been twisted around and around to look like a lance. It began to hum dangerously as I poured prana into it. Ruby tightened her grip around me nervously. I felt a crack sound from the weapon as it transitioned into a Broken Phantasm. With only a whispered name, the sword flew from my bow, tearing through the air at incredible speed. The air howled terribly as the Fake Spiral Sword cleaved the air itself to reach its target.

"Caladbolg."

An immense explosion filled the ground beneath us, tree and stone were torn asunder like wet paper in a blender. Flames danced all around the aftermath of the attack. Maybe that had been a little bit overkill, but even with the massive damage to the surroundings, I had little doubt that the creature would have survived if we hadn't attacked its underbelly.

Ruby and I landed in the trees, using her huge scythe to slow our descent. She landed gracefully, while I fell in a heap. Despite my outward appearance and my apparently boosted reserves, it was still incredibly tiring to trace not just one, but two Broken Phantasms in the span of an hour. Ruby took off into the trees, leaving me to stumble back onto my feet and chase after her. We met up with Blake and Pyrrha at the edge of the forest.

"That. Was. AMAZING!" Ruby cried out while jumping up and down with joy. "I can't believe we managed to pull that off! Shirou what in Remnant was that last attack? I've never seen it before! Does it use some kind of secret special Dust?"

I bit my lip trying to think of an answer, but thankfully Pyrrha came to the rescue, suggesting we find the others first. We were greeted with the sounds of combat as we reached the cliff near the relics. The four of them had at some point scaled the opposite, taller cliff and were defending against the avian monster.

"We have to help them!" Ruby cried as soon as she saw them.

I turned to tell her why it might be a bad idea, but Blake beat me to the punch.

"No, I think they're doing just fine on their own. There's not a lot of room up there and we would probably just get in the way. Besides, like us, they probably have their own plan to deal with it," Blake coolly explained to the distressed girl. I couldn't have said it better myself.

We watched them from the bottom of the cliff in silence. I watched as the girl in white created complex patterned circles to achieve various effects. It looked like very high level magecraft to me, but the speed and ease at which she created them seemed to imply that either she was extremely talented in some form of magecraft, or the circles themselves were less complex than they appeared to be. She also fought using her rapier which seemed to direct and control elemental attacks with high degree of accuracy.

The blonde girl seemed to be shooting some ammunition out of her gauntlets at the bird, but it was moving too quickly to get hit much.

Nora and Ren weren't attacking the bird directly, but seemed to be holding back for some reason.

The bird swept over the two attacking girls, making a wide turn. Then, I noticed its hitchhiker. Ren had managed jump onto the creature's back. Reinforcing my eyes, I saw he was holding on using the blades attached to his gun to dig into the monster's flesh. My eyes widened as the bird suddenly changed course and veered back towards the girls on the cliff. Was he actually steering that thing?

A set of blue crystals shot out from around the girl in white and smashed into the bird, coating its wings in ice. The ice quickly cracked and shattered, falling off in huge chunks. Ren leapt off its back and... tag-teamed with Nora? Oh I see, the ice attack was only meant to slow it down momentarily, enough time for Nora to reach it.

With a thunderous crunch, the hammer swung down and swatted the bird out of the sky, causing it to crash on the top of the cliff. The blonde girl yanked open its beak and proceeded to send fireball after fireball down its throat, until the entire thing disintegrated in shower of black particles, floating away in the wind. They let out a cheer and gathered near the cliff's edge looking down at us.

"Yaaaaaaang! We're down here!" Ruby called out, waving her arms around wildly while jumping up and down.

"Oh hey sis! Did you see how we kicked that Nevermore's butt?" the blonde shouted, waving back at us. Sisters? They looked absolutely nothing alike. Then again, I looked nothing like Ilya so there was that.

Further conversation was halted when a trio of drones appeared and circled me. Finally one hovered in front of my face, capturing my bewildered expression.

"Mr. Shirou Emiya, it would appear that a meeting is in order." A man's voice rang out from the drone. It turned towards the girls next to me. "Congratulations to all of you, it would seem you've passed this test with flying colours. An airship will arrive soon to pick you all up and transport you back to Beacon."

The drone turned back to me, but then flew off without another word, having apparently done its duty.

-o-

The airship ride was rather uneventful. I focused on looking out the window at the unfamiliar landscape, screening out the inane chatter in the background. I definitely was not in Fuyuki City anymore.

"Shirou?" Pyrrha's gentle voice brought my attention back to inside the airship. "Do you know what Ozpin wants to talk to you about? I'm your partner now, you can tell me anything. Trust me, I'll always have your back."

So that was Ozpin, huh? How did he already know my name? I only mentioned my surname to Pyrrha. The only way he could have heard was if he spied on me, like if he... used a drone. Stupid. Of course my arrival wouldn't go unnoticed. I appeared in the middle of a school event for heaven's sake. There's no way they wouldn't have monitored me to see if I was dangerous.

"Shirou?" Pyrrha's beautiful green eyes were speckled with concern. "Are you alright?"

I blinked and smiled at her. I couldn't help but be a little moved at her sincerity. "I'm fine, I just spaced out is all. I'm sure Ozpin just has a few questions, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

Her face flushed as I continued to smile at her. She looked away meekly, occasionally stealing glances in my direction. Eventually we settled into a comfortable silence as I returned to watching the landscape.

"Attention students, we will be landing in approximately 5 minutes, grab your things and don't leave any personal belongings on my ship or I'll keep it." The intercom blared to life suddenly, interrupting the myriad of conversations. "Don't laugh, I'm serious. Anyway, take any trash..."

I tuned out the bored announcer and began to wonder just what would happen when I met this Ozpin.

As we exited the ship, a cane hooked my shoulder. I turned in surprise to find a grey-hair man, wearing spectacles. He wore a green scarf over a black suit and held a coffee mug in his other hand. I instantly felt at ease in his presence, which paradoxically set me on edge.

"Hello ladies, Mr. Ren, I just need to borrow your friend here for a little chat. Feel free to roam around campus, but be ready to go on stage in the auditorium in two hours." The man calmy advised them, before turning back to me.

Pyrrha and Ruby both sent me worried looks as they walked off with the others.

"You and I have much discuss, my friend." His eyes hardened as he addressed me again, any feelings of comfort vanishing instantly. That was more like it.

-o-

We stepped into a large ornately decorated study filled with books, trinkets and all manner of fancy instruments. A tall stern-looking woman met us just inside the door and walked with us. Her piercing glare seemed see straight through me. I suppressed a shudder as I followed the headmaster to his desk. Motioning for me to sit, he took a seat in his own chair, facing away from me, looking out the large clock face window.

"I assume you have your own questions, but I ask that you remain patient." His chair turn slightly, revealing the side of his face.

"Who are you? I don't believe I've ever seen someone with your... capabilities. There are very few types of Dust that can generate an explosion of that intensity and even fewer that can create solid metal out of thin air. Naturally, both these types of Dust are rare, expensive, and generally very hard to come by outside of research facilities."

He spun fully around to face me, mug in hand.

"Furthermore, our sensors indicated your Aura has been inactive, yet you were able to survive a strike to your chest by an elder Beowolf with only minor scratches to show for it. So, I repeat. Who. Are. You."

His fixed stare bore no emotion, masking whatever thoughts may have been running through his head. Calmly taking a sip from his mug, he waited for me to answer.

"I..." I paused trying to think of something. I had no reason to just tell him I was a magus, yet I didn't know nearly enough about this world to make a convincing lie.

"I'm just some random guy?" That was probably not going to fool anyone. Worse, my voice cracked at the end and I answered as if I was asking a question. Issei was absolutely right, I _was_ a terrible liar.

"I see." Ozpin's curt response betrayed no emotion. "Then I don't suppose you know anything about this."

A screen materialized between us. It showed what seemed to be a fuzzy video of a mountain side. There were tiny figures running from a small group of buildings, being chased by the monsters I had encountered earlier. A heavily blurred figure stepped out from behind one of the buildings, apparently ignored by the beasts.

"This was taken about an hour after you appeared in the forest. There was a disturbance just outside this village not unlike the one you made when you appeared. The Grimm in the area were all drawn to this location. The last report I received detailed that it was a man in golden armour commanded them."

My ears perked at his last statement, and my eyes snapped to meet his. It couldn't be. He was supposed to have gone back to the Throne of Heroes. There was no way Gilgamesh could have survived. His injuries were too severe for his body to last, and the only way he could have procured another body would be... from the Grail.

That was it, wasn't it? There could be no hero if there was no conflict. Curse that fake priest and his infuriating words.

_'To wish to be a hero, is to wish to wish conflict on others.'_

I gritted my teeth as my face darkened. I must have been projecting a terrible aura as I could hear the woman nervously tighten her grip on her crop. I took a breath and looked back at Ozpin. He himself had gripped his cane, while giving me a cautionary look.

"That man is Gilgamesh, the strongest being I have ever encountered." I sighed and straightened in my seat. "I'm sorry, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Shirou Emiya, and I am a magus."

-o-

I explained the system of Magecraft briefly, before giving a heavily edited account of the Holy Grail War. I described Gilgamesh, his abilities and general disposition. Ozpin seemed to absorb the information very easily, though his expression remained unchanged.

"It would seem that effects of this Grail you speak of, caused his very entity to become a source of negativity himself." Ozpin observed, looking thoughtful. "It is very troubling that he appears to have some control over the Grimm, given your description of his personality and tendencies."

He stood and walked over to the stern-looking woman and whispered something to her. She seemed to disagree with him and began to heatedly whisper something back to him. He whispered something back, which seemed to mollify her, before strolling over to me.

"Mr. Emiya, it would seem as though you possess attributes uniquely qualified to face this Gilgamesh. Though you are a decent fighter, I can see that your abilities are raw, and as you are now, I don't believe you would be able to stop him." He tapped something on the screen, and many pages appeared all over.

"What I'm saying is, I'd like to offer you a spot in my school, where you can hone your abilities, train to fight Grimm as you will without a doubt encounter them again." He waved his hand nonchalantly while continuing to tap things on the screen.

"Normally, we require either an outstanding transcript from other training schools, or a heavily regulated battle simulation for entry, however, you obviously won't have any history before today, and given your unique abilities, I'd dare say you'd probably want to avoid further scrutiny." He gave me a wry smile as he faced me again.

"But as luck would have it, it seems one of our students decided he was unsuited for the rage of war, and will no longer be attending, leaving behind his transcripts for you." He gestured at the screen.

"Um, I may not know how the school system works here, but I don't believe you can just use someone else's transcript. I won't have done anything it mentions." I responded, slightly confused.

"Sadly, I suspect Mr. Arc didn't either." He muttered to himself. "But no matter, all I'm asking is if you would like to study here, Mr. Emiya."

This decision was an easy one. I looked him in the eyes as I stood up. "Yes, I think I can handle being a Faker." I took his hand and shook it. His expression softened as he gave me a warm smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Emiya. Welcome to Beacon Academy"

-o-

The stern blonde woman, who introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch, directed me to the auditorium where I came across Pyrrha and the others. They all seemed curious as to why Ozpin wanted to speak with me, so I told them he wanted my cookie recipe, which didn't seem to convince any of them except Ruby. Although to be fair, she seemed to be more focused on salivating and rubbing her stomach, than actually paying attention.

Soon the auditorium began to fill, and we were redirected backstage. Other students around us began to buzz in anxiety and anticipation. This was apparently when Ozpin would announce the teams that we would work with for next four years.

We watched as Ozpin gave a brief recounting of the history of wars past and their connections to colour. He then motioned at Glynda who signaled for the students to go to her. He began introducing the students one by one, before declaring their team name and the captain.

I frowned as I pondered his colour naming scheme. Weren't there only so many colours? And how would you even come up with a team name if none of the letters matched? What if everyone's name started with the same letter? That would just be ridiculous, were teams actually chosen just based on which initials would make the prettiest team names? For that matter, the captain's initial always came first. Did that mean the only qualification to lead was a useful first initial, regardless of any actual leadership qualities? Any person whose name started with something like X probably wouldn't be leading any time soon. And then t-

"-miya"

I felt a hard shove from behind, causing me to pitch forward unceremoniously. I turned and glared at Pyrrha who wore an apologetic expression and pointed past me. Glynda was tapping her foot impatiently and giving me her patented death glare, while jerking her crop in the direction of the stage. Sheepishly, I made my way to the stage with much haste.

Standing in my designated spot, I gazed into the sea of faces. Most had a bored look, but a few perked up when the girls entered the stage. There was a slight flurry of whispers and I noticed Pyrrha shrink imperceptibly.

"Shirou Emiya, Pyrrha Nikos, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose. You all selected the knight piece and have shown excellent teamwork and skill. I hereby designate you as Team SBPR lead by Shirou Emiya." Ozpin's voice shifted slightly as he called my name out, laced with a faint tone of amusement.

So they chose me to be captain. I was and wasn't surprised at the same time. Ozpin _had_ taken a special interest in me, and I had been the one to come up with the plan in the forest, but it felt strange. Pyrrha definitely had the right qualities, expertise and knowledge, but she seemed to have been passed over for someone with almost no knowledge of this world, someone whose goal wasn't even to truly become a huntsman. I knew it. He picked me for my initials.

-o-

"And so this team shall be called, Team WYNR, led by Weiss Schnee."

We watched from the crowd as the newly formed Team WYNR exited the stage to join us on the floor. Weiss' face was absolutely glowing in happiness. I guess some people actually really wanted to become captain. I should probably refrain from telling her my thoughts on the team naming policies.

"This is so cool! We're on our way to becoming actual Huntresses!" Ruby exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I wouldn't celebrate so quickly. We still have to sit through classes first." Blake responded without looking up from her book.

"Aww don't be such a spoil-sport. I'm sure we'll have all kinds of fun!" Yang threw her hands in the air and waved them around as she spoke.

"If you're quite done fooling around, I think now would be an excellent time for us to inspect our new rooms." Weiss interjected. I could almost hear the tic mark appearing on her forehead just from her voice alone.

"You know, I think that's a grand idea." Pyrrha decided to pitch in her two cents. The others nodded in agreement, and we proceeded to navigate the labyrinth that was the Beacon Academy residential wing.

"I can't believe you guys are just across the hall from us!" Yang waved at us from inside her own room.

"I know! We can have late night snack sessions and pillow fights and sleepovers and see each other every morning and see each other every night and play board games and..." Ruby's face began turning blue as she kept speaking, though it didn't seem to deter her from finishing off her list of things I planned to never participate in.

"I think now would be a good time to unpack, don't you Ruby?" I gently pulled the door shut from behind her, and dragged her by the waist until we reached our luggage.

"Alright, why don't we pick our beds and unpack our things." I suggested, releasing red-haired bundle of joy. The others walked over to their chosen beds and began to empty their luggage.

Twenty minutes later, my eyes were greeted by a hurricane of messiness. Beds were shoved to the side, clothing strewn about, and every object imaginable littering the ground, obscuring it completely from view.

"Yeah, this isn't going to work." Blake's astute observation was met with unanimous agreement.

Ruby's head suddenly perked up, her eyes wide. "Why don't we stack the beds on each other to make bunk beds? Then we'd have enough room for everything!"

That actually wasn't a bad idea. The only question was how to actually stack the beds safely and securely. The best way would obviously be to somehow connect the bed posts together on top of each other somehow, but that would take really strong glue... or some applied magecraft.

"I don't mind, but how would we do it?" The dark-haired beauty pointed out.

"I actually have an idea, but you'll have to step out of the room while I do it." Despite the fact that they'd already seen me perform magecraft, I was still uncomfortable with the idea of non-magi watching me use it.

Blake narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to do something strange, are you?"

"Of course not, I just don't..." Think Shirou, think. "...want you to get hurt if something goes wrong? I'm just going to stack Pyrrha's bed on top of mine and-"

"Ooh I want to be on top!"

"-Ruby's bed on top of yours, then glue the bedposts together. Does that sound alright?" I really hoped that sounded plausible.

"That should be fine, but I still don't see why we have to leave?" Blake gave me a quizzical look.

"I think it's alright if he doesn't want us to see, let's just go chat in the hallway for a bit." Pyrrha interjected, rounding the other two girls up and pulling them into the hallway. I flashed a thankful smile at her, and she returned it with a gentle nod.

Alright, I technically never fused two objects together before, but given my history of fixing mundane objects, I felt I could improvise a little.

Reinforcing my limbs, I lifted Pyrrha's bed and carefully placed it over mine. Placing a hand on each bed, I closed my eyes and concentrated.

"Trace on."

A hammer striking an anvil echoed off somewhere in my mind. I Structurally Analyzed both of the beds. Good, the wood frames seemed to be made from the same tree. That would make this next part even easier.

Reinforcement is like filling in the gaps of an object with prana or energy. This would in a sense, make a complete object 'more perfect'. By imbuing the object with prana, certain attributes can be amplified like the durability of a shield, or the sharpness of a blade. Objects can even change shape depending on how the prana is utilized.

That was what I was going for. I firmly gripped the bed posts and visualized the very structure of the two objects, down to every fibre and every wood cell. I poured prana into them, willing the fibres to reach out and intertwine with the fibres of the other post.

Stepping back, I admired my handiwork. The beds looked like they had always been joined together, the wood smooth where the separation once was. One down, seven more to go.

-o-

As I opened the door, a red blur streaked in and immediately settled onto one of the top bunks. Pyrrha and Blake walked in eyebrows raised.

"That is actually pretty impressive." Blake closely inspected the joined bed frames. "It's so smooth, that can't have just been glue. What did you use?" She glanced up at me, her eyes glowing with curiosity.

"Umm... Magic?" I plastered a fake smile on my face, while secretly hoping she would fall for it.

"Fine, don't tell me." She settled down in her own bed, before pulling out one of her books. The best lies were seeded in truth.

"Shirou, this is pretty amazing." Pyrrha commented while running her hands down the smooth wooden frames. She then began to clean up the floor around the beds.

I grabbed a set of clothes and my towel and headed towards the washrooms for a nice warm shower. Today had been a long, long day.

-o-

_I am the bone of my sword,_

_Steel is my body, Fire is my blood._

_I have created over a thousand swords,_

_Unaware of loss, _

_Nor aware of gain,_

_Withstood pain to create weapons, _

_Waiting for one's arrival._

_I have no regrets._

_This is the only path,_

_My whole life was, the Unlimited Blade Works_

_-Emiya Shirou_

AN: This is my first fanfiction I've ever really written. It's also the first bit of writing I've ever posted anywhere. Incidentally, I'm more of an artist than a writer, so if you're reading this, it was originally meant as a one-shot, so I wouldn't get your hopes up about seeing many updates.

This idea kept nagging at me. The idea of a powerful, but not quite skilled version of Shirou arriving in Remnant just stuck with me. It's not exactly original, but of the few RWBY and Fate Stay/Night crossovers, none of them quite struck me in the same way as stories like In Flight by Gabriel blessing or even God Slaying Blade Works by Marcus Galen Sands, which I'll admit influenced my story a fair bit, evident in both the title and a little in my style of writing.

As for the story itself, I do actually have an ending in mind, but without any sort of 'meat' or actual plot development in between, it would be pretty useless. I do already have one omake written out (I know it's kinda early to already be writing those), and I'll probably write out a collection before posting as its own chapter. I do have various ideas for events in the story, so it's entirely possible I may just end up writing the rest of the story, though that probably won't be any time soon. In fact, it's more likely I'll write out the rest of the story before actually posting any new chapters.

Anyway thanks for reading this ridiculously long chapter and ridiculously long author note (unless you skipped it, which I won't blame you for. I usually skip these when reading….)

TL;DR: Well you missed out. Whether you missed out on gold nuggets or trash, we'll never know…..

_Madgamer2k7 out._


	2. Chapter Two: A Shattered Moon

Chapter Two – A Shattered Moon

As the first rays of sunshine peeked out over the horizon, the clouds washed with orange, a new day had begun. The chirps of nearby birds permeated the cool air with melodic tones.

I stood by the window watching as the world roused itself. There was something calming about the duality of light and dark, the buzzing noise and the silence.

Slipping on my shoes, I quietly stalked out into the still hallway. The dim lights cast a warm ambient glow about the long passage. Unlike the outside, the interior of the building was still silent, slumbering in the early morning.

Making my way across the bridge between the residential building and the school, I paused, taking in a view of the school.

It was an enormous collection of buildings, taking up much of the already expansive grounds. In the distance were large decorative columns towering over the entrance, projecting an air of eminence and importance. Surrounding them, were ornate fountains, dressed with lush greenery. In the middle was a wide stone brick walkway which crossed the circular arrangement of pillars and fountains, leading directly to the main hall. To the sides of the walkway were deep green grass fields with healthy young trees lining paths. The scene looked more like a park or something out of a fairy tale rather than a school for warriors.

After I descended the stairwell, I exited through the back of the building, heading towards a secluded area I had spotted during the airship ride. Stepping into a grove of trees, I found myself amidst a small circular grass field, enclosed by the dense foliage and clustered trees, away from prying eyes.

Taking a seat in the grass dampened with morning dew, I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting the sounds of nature stirring fill my head. As peaceful as this oasis of tranquility was, I had come here with more than just the purpose of enjoying the morning ambience.

Putting up a simple bounded field, similar to the one I used for my home in Fuyuki, I surveyed the surroundings, making sure there were no people or annoying drones to spy on me. The bounded field would alert me if someone entered it, serving as a silent alarm that only I could perceive. It was a very useful tool, despite its simplicity, and I was grateful that putting up weak bounded fields was within my limited abilities in Magecraft.

With a deep breath, I traced out Kanshou and Bakuya, shifting into a familiar stance. I imagined the Counter Guardian, and moved in synchrony with his own movements. Whereas his movements were crisp and expended minimal energy, mine in comparison were clumsy and inefficient. I could almost feel his irritating smirk all the way from wherever Alaya kept her pet soldiers.

Breathing out again to clear my head of the white-haired jerk, I resumed practising the sword forms with steady concentration. It seemed whatever the abilities the Grail had granted me increased my overall endurance, strength and prana reserves. In fact, I could feel the energy humming within my circuits, significantly more than I ever remembered having, even with Rin's transfusion. I could probably deploy my reality marble on my own while simultaneously using a couple of high ranking Noble Phantasms before completely losing out to exhaustion and overworking my circuits.

I also seemed to have obtained certain skills that Archer possessed such as Eye of Mind (true). Whether or not that extended to any other abilities remained to be seen.

A clear chime sounded in my head, alerting me to the arrival of a newcomer. I continued with my routine, since I wasn't actively utilizing Magecraft, nor did I want to reveal my knowledge of their presence. Whomever it was, they clearly noticed me and remained in the shadows.

Transitioning into spinning attacks, I attempted to locate the trespasser by scanning the edges of the area as I rotated. Despite discretely Reinforcing my eyes, I still caught no glimpse of the person. This person must have been a ninja or possibly even Assassin, based on that level of presence concealment.

Deciding to end my routine for the morning, I finished with some stretches, before heading back to the dorms to change out of my sweat drenched clothing and take a shower. Ozpin had been kind enough to procure me sets of clothing and toiletries and had delivered them to our dorm shortly before we had arrived.

I could feel the eyes of the mystery person following me as I exited the clearing. Even as I walked back towards the buildings, their hidden gaze never let up.

-o-

Given how conservative Japanese culture was, it was a little jarring for everything suddenly become coed, from the bedrooms...to the washrooms.

I suppressed the urge to turn around, shut my eyes and run away screaming as I, quite literally, ran into a certain busty blonde. Rather, it was more accurate to say that she ran into me, knocking both of us to the ground.

"You uncouth pervert! Get back here and give it to me! Now!" A shrill voice pierced the humid air of the washroom, accompanied by the pitter patter of wet feet on the smooth tiles.

"You'll have to come get it from me! Or better yet, try to take mine!" The blonde fireball called out while sitting on my chest, wearing nothing but a towel, while triumphantly holding up another towel. Oh no...

To my dismay, the pale heiress veered around the corner angrily huffing, face blushing furiously. She came skidding to a halt, locking eyes with me as her eyes widened and she froze. I stared blankly back at her, while Yang started howling with laughter.

Water droplets trailed down her slim porcelain figure, drawing attention to her petite waist and shapely thighs. Her long white hair swept around her before clinging to her back. Her small yet supple br- No Shirou, stop staring! I can't...

The blush from her face spread across her uncovered skin all around her body as I could feel an impending sense of doom looming about.

Finally, it seemed my self-preservation instincts decided to kick in and I pushed Yang off my chest before taking off into the shower rooms, darting past the still frozen Weiss who had begun to shiver uncontrollably. Whether it was from the cool air or an indicator of something ominous, I didn't stay to find out.

As I ducked into an empty shower stall, a strident, ear piercing scream echoed throughout the room.

"YAAAAANGGG!"

I had come here with a nice warm, post-workout shower in mind. Why couldn't things ever be simple here? Now it seemed a cold shower would be more appropriate, perhaps even a shower as cold as Weiss.

-o-

The air hung heavy over the collective heads of the students. Professor Port's bumbling words only served to provide background noise for which several dozing students contributed to, including one Ruby Rose. Granted, her snores were slightly dampened by the balled up piece of paper Blake had graciously shoved in her mouth.

Speaking of damp, it appeared that she had also begun drooling in her sleep. Behind us, Weiss' pencil strained and cracked in her grip as she glowered at both Ruby and me. I sank down in my chair fighting the urge to just flee.

Our encounter this morning had left things a little frosty between the two of us. Fortunately for Yang, she somehow possessed an infectious charm that swayed even the stoniest of hearts, allowing her to pacify the raging heiress. I, however, did not possess any such luck or charisma.

The shrill ring of the bell interrupted Professor Port's endless rambling and signaled the end of class. And my suffering...

"Yaaaay! Lunch time!" Leave it to Ruby to be wide awake and standing at the door the moment class ended. Wait how did she get over there already? The last I checked, she was sandwiched between me and Blake, and the quiet girl hadn't even finishing putting her notes away. With a deep breath, I followed the others to the dining hall.

-o-

I was at a loss about what to do. A pair of narrowed icy blue eyes stared at me from across the table. It seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed this. The fiery blonde elbowed her side, grinning fiercely.

"Hey, you've been staring at lover-boy all lunch now. Look! You haven't even eaten anything yet! Could it be you're interested in him?" Yang wagged her eyebrows suggestively at Weiss.

"The only thing I'm interested in is gouging his eyes out." She muttered under her breath. As if to demonstrate her point, she waved her fork around menacingly. I flinched unconsciously, sweat dropping as I gave her a weak smile.

By now all of the others, except Blake, who was more interested in her book, were now watching us intently, their faces a mix of worry and curiosity. Well, only Pyrrha looked worried, the rest might as well have been munching on popcorn at this point.

"Whap hapwened?" Nora chirped, mouth full of pancakes.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened." Weiss smiled sweetly at Nora, all traces of her previous anger hidden. "Right Shirou?"

A chill ran through my body as I nodded dumbly. This was terrifyingly familiar for some reason. She stood up suddenly, picked up her tray, with food still untouched, and walked away, her ponytail swishing behind her.

"Is everything all right?" Pyrrha asked in a concerned tone.

"It's fine. I'll go talk to her later." I gave her a reassuring pat on the back. Returning to my plate, I nudged the soggy toast.

It may have only been a few days since I left Fuyuki, but I was itching to get back into a kitchen again. The calming fragrant air, the heat from the stove, I imagined gripping a pan over the flames as hot oil sizzled from gyoza. I could hear Saber's and Fuji-nee's stomachs growling from here, in fact someone was calling my name.

"Don't worry Saber, they're almost done!" I called out gleefully. This batch smelled so good.

"Shirou, you look like a fool." A book waved in front of my face. Noooo! My blissful kitchen paradise! I blinked as I slowly returned to reality. I craned my neck backwards to see a pair of amber orbs staring back.

"I'd just like you to know that." The stoic beauty then turned and stalked away, presumably to the library.

Glancing back down at my hands, I had apparently been waving around my spoon in place of the pan, which was still raised. Before anyone else could say anything else, I asked in a deadpan tone.

"I don't suppose anyone wants to help me break into the kitchens?"

-o-

It was dark out already.

Moonlight illuminated the trees, casting an ethereal glow about the forest. The leaves, bathed in moonlight, shined like a shimmering ocean as the wind brushed by. The rustling grass was soon flattened underfoot.

With my Reinforced eyes, I swept the area, making sure I wasn't being followed. I didn't want my secret admirer to witness my activities tonight.

Trudging forward through dense foliage and past the looming trees, I arrived at yet another clearing, this one on the boundary between where the forest and the school grounds intersected. I needed absolute discretion this time, unlike in the morning.

Unfortunately, I wasn't skilled enough create a bounded field large enough for my next task, hence my clandestine journey into the forest.

Once again checking the perimeter of the forest, I settled down cross-legged onto the grass, arms extended, hands on my knees. With a deep breath, I activated my circuits.

An image formed in my mind. A red shoulder-length coat, on black body armour, with ashy white hair, a black sword in his right hand, a white one in his left, the man stood facing away from me, his ever-present smirk out of view, but evidently there. He stood on a hill of swords, each blade stuck into the ground like a tombstone, one for every person he could not save. A hill of infinite swords for a mountain of infinite lives lost.

_**"I am the bone of my sword,"**_

My circuits filled with energy.

_**"Steel is my body, Fire is my blood."**_

All 27 of my magic circuits were now humming, ready to go.

_**"I have created over a thousand swords,"**_

I could almost feel them materialize in me.

_**"Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain,"**_

The grass was now being flattened away from me as energy radiated off my body in waves.

_**"Withstood pain to create weapons,"**_

My circuits burned as they surged with prana.

_**"Waiting for one's arrival."**_

I could feel the swords in my grip.

_**"I have no regrets,"**_

Not now, not ever.

_**"This is the only path."**_

The man turned his head, one grey eye peering at me with amusement.

_**"My whole life was,"**_

The prana running through my circuits felt like hot lava, burning me inside out. I gritted my teeth.

_**"The Unlimited Blade Works."**_

Every nerve in my body seared as if I had been struck by lightning. I cried out in agony as I collapsed on the ground, writhing.

The man threw back his head and laughed, walking off towards the gargantuan metal gears in the sky, disappearing into the rusty mist.

I felt blood vessels in my eyes burst as my entire body strained to keep itself together and contain the energy. With one final excruciating surge of prana, my circuits fizzled out and went silent.

I lay on the ground staring blankly into sky's dark abyss. It hadn't worked. Why? Why hadn't it worked? It had to work. This was the key to defeating Gilgamesh. Without it, I might as well throw paper balls at him, seeing as that would be just as effective as anything else I could do.

With a groan, I tried to sit up, but didn't move, couldn't move. My entire body was completely numb, none of my limbs responding. Panicking, I tried to lift myself again, only barely managing to lift my head off the ground for a moment.

The world began to spin as my vision darkened around the edges. Looking back towards the sky, I could swear the full moon began to crack and fall apart, swallowed into nothingness of the night sky void. My eyelids drew slowly shut as I was pulled into the arms of Morpheus.

o-o

_I awoke sitting on a stone bench, leaning against a wall. The air was hot and arid, brown dust scattering into the wind. Stone buildings stretched into the horizon, as far as my eyes could see._

_Standing up, I stepped out from under the shady overhang and onto the balcony, the smooth white marble railing, blindingly bright from the scorching sun. Below me, people bustled and buzzed, carrying all manner of goods, ranging from carpets to pottery. The few people that glanced up at me, smiled and waved. Giving them a confident grin I waved back, but from deep down an errant thought crossed my mind. Why should they be happy?_

_I blinked and stepped back from the railing. Where had that come from? I turned and noticed a courtyard with an intricately carved fountain. Moving as fast as my small body could go, I ran to inspect it. It was so beautiful, a statue of the gods, water flowing from the jugs they carried. Each face divine and proud, the stone figures stood triumphantly together. _

_Glancing down at the water, I glimpsed a faded reflection of myself. A young, smiling boy, beamed back, joy clearly evident in his eyes. His red eyes._

_I felt dizzy. The world began to blur around me, as I stumbled, trying to remain standing. A flurry of sounds and incoherent voices rang out in my mind, blocking out all else. Falling to my knees, I heard a woman's voice._

_"-ou."_

_It was so familiar, yet I couldn't quite place it. However, it helped calm the buzzing in my head._

_"-irou"_

_Where was I? I was upset about something. What was it? _

_"Shirou."_

_The world around me shifted. I was standing amidst a battlefield. Corpses littered the ground as swords clashed all around me. It all felt so familiar, yet so long ago. And so, I dreamed of swords and battles._

o-o

My eyes shot open. The sky was tinted in shades of purple and pink. I remembered now, my reality marble had failed to materialize, my body paralyzed. With a deep sigh, I contemplated about how long it would take before someone noticed I was missing. Hopefully before I dehydrated completely.

A fly buzzed around my face and I swatted at it in irritation. I wasn't dead yet, just wait a few days.

Hang on.

I lifted my hand over my face. That was odd. With a sudden jerk, I sprang onto my feet, or at least I tried to. My legs ended up getting tangled, and I collapsed back to the ground.

My limbs were working again. If I recalled correctly, paralysis didn't just wear off overnight. Maybe the Grail had granted me healing powers. Even so, my appendages felt clunky, as if the person reattaching the wires had no idea what they were doing.

Managing to stand up, I tried walking in a circle. As I did so, I felt a hint of control slowly creeping back. It seemed this clumsiness was only a temporary setback.

As I made my way back towards the school, the sun's rays washed over the treetops bathing them in golden light. Flocks of birds dotted the morning sky, little black specks of ink on the watercolour sky.

By the time I reached the dorm room, the sun was already high above, my teammates all awake and stirring. Pyrrha looked over her shoulder as I walked in, and she smiled.

"Where have you been?" She cocked her head to side giving me a curious look.

"Oh, I just came back from my morning workout. I left a little late today." I flashed her a confident grin as I rummaged for a set of clean clothes. Dang, I was _actually_ smooth today. As I said this, Blake glanced up from her book, watching me from her bed.

"Here, I'm just going to take quick shower. I'll see you girls before class." With another flashy grin, I headed towards the washrooms, leaving behind a red-faced Pyrrha and an intently staring Blake.

My morning shower went off without a hitch this time, and I returned to our room to find only Blake was present. She jerked suddenly when I entered the room, her cheeks red and eyes wide. Was she hiding something?

Quickly regaining her composure the black bow wearing beauty climbed out of her bed grasping something behind her back. She closed the door and approached me, face emotionless. Stopping so closely that we were practically embracing, she narrowed her amber eyes as she looked into my own ochre eyes. This was starting to take a weird turn.

"You lied to her." It was a matter of fact statement. I blinked confusedly.

"Um. Lied to who?" I honestly had no idea. For a bad liar, I seemed to be doing it really often these days. That was more of Rin's specialty, not that I would have ever said that to her face.

"Pyrrha. You lied to her about morning practice." Her predatory gaze never broke contact from mine. How had she known? That had been, sadly, the most convincing lie I'd ever told.

"What do you mean? I actually do have morning practices every day." I replied, unfazed. Internally, I gave myself a mental high-five.

"Not today. You weren't there." She placed one hand on her hip. Her accusing stare seemed to see right through me. "Where were you? No more lying now."

I bit my lip. What could I say? I had decided to withhold knowledge of my Magecraft from all but Ozpin and Glynda. I was at an impasse. I could either reveal one of my deepest secrets to Blake, or lie to her face, likely losing her trust forever.

With a sigh, I came to a decision.

"Blake, I-" The bedroom door burst open as Ruby plodded in carrying a large bulky paper bag.

"Look what I snagged from the kitchen when they weren't looking!" The oblivious red-head opened the paper bag, pulling out a golden coated, breaded and fried slice of potato. "Hash browns!"

After her triumphant exclamation, she finally looked at us for the first time. Her eyes widened in excitement.

"Ooh, am I interrupting something?" She said with hopeful glee.

"Yes" The black-haired girl glared at the interloper. I whipped my head back and stared incredulously at my interrogator.

"No Ruby, there's nothing going on here, Blake was just picking off a piece of dandruff from my shirt." I smoothly replied, never once taking my eyes off of my black bow wearing teammate.

"If you say so~" Ruby winked at us.

Blake turned to retort, but Ruby perked up as she glanced at girl's other hand.

"Hey Blake, what are you reading there? Ninja's o-" She was cut off as a black ribbon wrapped itself around her face, covering both her eyes and mouth.

Glaring menacingly at me as she wielded Gambol Shroud, Blake spoke.

"Don't think we're done talking just yet. I _will_ find out what you were up to." She whispered in a low voice.

As Blake turned to untangle Ruby, I quickly grasped her arm. She glanced back in surprise as I gave her a comforting look.

"Blake, meet me tonight, behind the main building by the back exit. The one next to the rose bush. I'll tell you more then." I may have been given an opportunity to escape via Ruby, but I had already made my mind. If anything, I was stubborn as hell once I decided upon something.

She looked at me suspiciously, but nodded her head in affirmation. Leaving her to deal with Ruby, I swiped the bag of hash browns, seeing as I had already missed breakfast.

-o-

Classes were mundane and similar to the ones I remembered taking in Fuyuki, with the exception that much of the material was completely new to me. What struck me most was Dr. Oobleck's lecture on Faunus heritage and the numerous historic mistreatments.

From what I could tell, many such acts of violence or mistrust towards the Faunus stemmed from jealous and powerful humans. It was the useful extra traits exhibited by Faunus such as night vision, enhanced senses including hearing and smell that caused some humans to oppress them under the pretense of the Faunus physical animal traits rendering them beast-like and therefore beneath the humans.

I gripped the table tightly when I noticed many hands raise during Dr. Oobleck's identification of bully victims. If there was one thing I hated besides evil wish granting things, it was bullies, people who went out of their way to cause misery to others. As a person who helped others whenever he could, bullies stood for everything I stood against.

The bell rang yet again, signaling the start of the lunch break. Ruby's notebook snapped closed and was put away before the bell even stopped ringing. I rolled my eyes at her antics, before following her and the others to the dining hall.

The cafeteria food was pretty average for the most part, and I refrained from escaping back into my fantasy kitchen again, lest I embarrass myself and my teammates.

I took a glance up from my plate and sighed. At least they weren't blue this time. A pair of silver eyes darted excitedly back and forth between me and the bookworm sitting by my side. With a slight frown I addressed the girl across from me.

"What is it Ruby? Is there something you need?" Her smile was starting to scare.

"How long?" She managed to squeak. At this, Blake looked up from her book at Ruby.

"How long for what?" It was Blake's turn to ask.

"How long have you two been, you know, together?" The redhead was practically bouncing in her seat now. This statement turned heads as, once again, my life became everyone else's soap opera. Putting my face in my hands, I let Blake answer for both of us.

"We're not together, Ruby. We were just discussing... personal matters." She bit her lip as she said this.

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by pained cry from nearby. A rabbit Faunus girl was bent over awkwardly as a group of boys laughed, the biggest one tugging on her ear.

"Ouch, please stop. It hurts!" The meek girl pleaded.

"See, I told you they were real." The one grabbing her ear commented with a laugh, the others joining him in laughter.

"I think Cardin is despicable. Someone should stop him. What do you think Sh-" Pyrrha paused as she noticed the space where I had been sitting was empty. She turned back to the bullying boys to see me approaching them.

Seeing the big oaf laugh raucously as he tormented the poor rabbit girl set my blood ablaze. With a Reinforced hand, I firmly gripped the bully's offending arm. With a look of surprise, he involuntarily let go of the girl's ears. She quickly dashed away, happy to escape from further humiliation.

He turned angrily, trying to size me up. Standing at around 167 cm, I wasn't going to intimidate anybody except perhaps small children. He, however, was absolutely massive in comparison, his shoulders level with the top of my head.

"Who a-" I didn't allow him to finish as I gripped his arm even harder, bringing the giant to his knees.

"You have no right to call yourself a huntsman." My voice was even-toned and emotionless. I looked down at his eyes with no malice or hatred, just cold steel.

His face twinged in fear and pain as my grip increased in strength. The whole room was silent as they witnessed the downfall of Cardin.

"Shirou. That's enough." It was Pyrrha. She was standing by our table, looking neither angry nor joyful, but gave me a firm stare.

With a sigh, I released him, letting him fall to the ground nursing his wounded arm and pride. Without a word, I walked out of the room, staring blankly ahead, vaguely aware of the growing flurry of hushed whispers behind me.

"Shirou, why did you do that?" Ruby caught up to me in the hallway, the others following closely behind.

"It's just... I can't stand by and watch someone in need without doing something to help them. It's not wrong to want to help others." I smiled gently at her as I repeated my mantra. She gave me a curious look, but said nothing.

"I'll see you guys in class." With that, I turned the corner and left. Perhaps now would be a nice time to relax in my secret spot behind the school.

-o-

"Why did you call me here?" The pale heiress asked, hands on her hips.

The evening sun lit up the room with an orange glow. Shadows danced along the wall as the wind played with the leaves outside. In the middle of the classroom, a small section of the table had been set up with dining utensils.

The other captain cocked her head to the side as I carefully brought down two steaming plates. A wonderful aroma wafted about the room as I placed the plates on some cloth I had found.

"I'll have you know I'm not interested in perverts." She folded her arms, turning her nose up at me. I chuckled, giving her a comforting smile.

"To be fair, _you_ were the one running around exposing yourself. I should be calling _you_ the pervert." I raised an eyebrow at her anticipating her reaction.

Her face turned a number of shades of red, but she bit her lip, holding back from what would have been an angry retort.

"Anyway, I've noticed things have been a little... different between us since then. We should patch things up, for the sake of both our teams." Picking up a pair of chopsticks, I motioned for her to eat.

"I agree. Perhaps, I may have acted a little... childish, and I apologize." She said as she looked down at her food. "But that doesn't explain why you insisted on bringing food too."

"Well, I guess you could think of this as my apology." I picked up a piece of beef and breathed in deeply. It had been so long since I'd eaten my own cooking.

"Mmm!" Weiss' eyes lit up as she took her first bite. "Where did you get this food? It's simply amazing!"

My cheeks glowed with pride as she praised my cooking. "I cooked it myself."

She turned to look at me surprised, eyes wide. Quickly swallowing, she asked, "You made this? It's very good! What is it called?"

"It's a simple sukiyaki, a pretty common dish from my homeland." I answered, taking another bite.

"Homeland?" Her head perked to the side as she looked at me curiously. "Are you from Vacuo? I've never heard of this dish before, and I've been to both Atlas and Mistral before."

My eyes unfocused as I remembered Fuyuki City, the bustling night life, tall skyscrapers, quiet peaceful neighbourhoods, beautiful parks, a terrible all-consuming inferno. I blinked, roused from my thoughts.

"No, I think my homeland is far from here. So very far, I don't think I shall ever see it again." I replied staring out the window as the sun kissed the horizon.

She tilted her head, looking at me. "Well, where in Remnant did you learn to cook so well?" She said, changing the subject.

"Oh, I had to teach myself to cook. My father knew almost nothing about household duties, including cooking and cleaning. He was the only person I knew that could consistently burn anything he touched in the kitchen, including coffee." I smiled, reminiscing about Kiritsugu's horrible talent in all manner of household chores. I didn't notice Weiss' face turn downcast as I mentioned my father.

"What about your father, Weiss? Your parents, what are they like?" I asked, oblivious to her obvious discomfort.

"I'd rather not talk about my father. Let's just say he's a difficult man. I don't really speak to my family that often." She said quietly, barely louder than a whisper. She turned to me, face suddenly feigning content. "Tell me more about your family, Shirou. What about your mother?"

Surprised, by her sudden change in attitude, I acquiesced to her request.

"I don't have a mother, or at least I don't remember her." I paused, debating to tell her my true origins. Well this _was_ a meeting where we were meant to bond.

"I was born in fire."

She stopped eating, interest peaked by my statement.

"My first memory was of a great, terrible fire that consumed all in its path."

She now watched me intently, hanging on my every word.

"I remember people were all around me dying, their skin melting and burning off. They were screaming for someone to save them. But there was no mercy from the blaze."

Her face paled at my graphic description.

"I walked and walked, watching as everyone around me lay dying. I knew I couldn't stop, or else I would die too. So, even as my skin blistered from the heat, my legs aching, I continued walking, shedding parts of myself, my emotions, my memories."

The room was silent as I took a breath and continued.

"Eventually, I collapsed, out of energy, out of resolve. It was then that it started raining, the fire doused around me. I remember reaching out to the sky wishing for someone to save me like all the others trapped in ash."

I reached an arm out, mimicking my memory.

"And then he appeared. His face was filled with absolute joy as he knelt over me. I remember wondering if I could ever be as happy as he looked in that one moment. He saved my life. I woke up in a hospital where they treated my injuries. Not long after I woke up, he came again. This time he asked if I wanted him to be my father."

I stopped talking and looked at Weiss. Her icy blue eyes were glassy with tears, wet streaks staining her cheeks. Without warning, her arms wrapped around me, her head resting on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Shirou." Her words were choked as she looked over my shoulder. "Didn't you say you would never see your homeland again? What about your father?"

I sighed softly.

"He actually passed away 5 years after he adopted me. A mutual friend became my guardian."

Her grip tightened ever so slightly. We stayed still like this for a moment, before she pulled back, hands grasping my shoulders.

"You know we'll always be here for you, Shirou. My team and yours. No matter, what happens, we'll always have your back."

She stood up, quietly sniffling and walked to the door. She turn to face me again.

"Your father was a good man. I'm glad he saved you."

Her eyes turned to the side as she continued.

"You asked about my father. He is not a good person. He is involved with all kinds of shady dealings, acts with questionable morals, and most unforgivably, has smeared my family's name."

She turned to the exit again, placing a hand on the doorframe, looking down at the ground.

"Worst of all, I can understand why he did the things that he did. And I can't condemn him for it."

With that she was gone.

I looked down at our unfinished dinners. With a small sigh, I proceeded to clean up.

-o-

"You're late" Blake stood in the shadows, leaning against the school building, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'm sorry, I got a little caught up with Weiss." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. At the mention of the white-haired heiress, Blake stiffened slightly.

"And how did that go?" She asked with a curious tone.

"I think things are good between us now." I said with a smile. Walking along the sidewalk, I motioned at her to follow. "Come on, make sure we aren't followed."

With a cursory glance behind us, Blake fell into step behind me. The bushes rustled in the gentle breeze as we stepped into the treeline. Beams of moonlight pierced the veil of leaves from the tree canopies. To her credit, Blake didn't seem to be fazed by our journey off campus into the forest. Any other person would probably have started asking questions by now.

Reaching the familiar clearing, I walked to its centre and kneeled, Blake watching quietly. I set up my bounded field around us, covering just past the treeline. As the field went up, she stiffened and... did her bow just twitch?

Facing away from her, I stood up slowly. This was it. There was no turning back now.

"So what do you want to know?"

I closed my eyes, waiting for her response.

"I don't understand why you lie so much. Specifically to us, your teammates. We're meant to have each other's backs, not to second guess each other's motives."

Her voice was laced with anger, growing steadily louder with each word.

"You lied to Pyrrha this morning, your very own partner. What are you hiding? How can we trust you if you refuse to trust us? That is not how partnership works. It goes both ways!"

She was practically shouting now. Breathing heavily, she collected herself. In her normal speaking voiced she resumed talking.

"In a person, I value trust more than anything else. I want to know I can rely on him, that I can count on him and he won't let me down. I don't want him to... betray me and everything we stood for."

She trailed off. I was beginning to suspect she wasn't talking about me anymore. Turning around, I looked at her face for the first time since she started talking.

Twin streaks shined in the moonlight, adorning each pale cheek. She was looking down at the ground, hands clenched tightly at her sides.

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

My voice was calm, my breathing even. She looked back at me, her previous anger pushed back in favour of her normal stoic facade.

"I'm asking you to trust us. No more ridiculous lies. No more mysterious tricks. Whatever you may need, we'll be here for you. We'll face our problems together."

Her words echoed Weiss', and I felt a warmth blossom in my chest at hearing them. I walked towards her, stopping an arm's length away. I stared into her golden eyes which stared unflinchingly back at me. They glistened in the starlight, still slightly wet from her earlier outburst.

"You're asking me to tell you my most precious, most deeply kept secret."

She stared defiantly back, though her voice wavered slightly at my declaration.

"I am."

There was no helping it then.

"Blake, I am a magus."

If she was surprised or confused, her face didn't show it. She nodded at me to continue.

"I can perform feats of Magecraft, most notably Reinforcement and Gradation Air, or as it is more commonly called, Projection."

She tilted her head in curiosity. Holding a hand out, I showed her my empty palm.

"Trace on"

An ordinary longsword appeared in my outstretched fingers, which closed firmly around the hilt.

"This is Projection, or rather my special version of it, which I call Tracing. What I essentially do, is that I create a solid object using my prana. In the process I recreate the materials used in its composition, its very forging and shaping, and finally its history, every nick the blade received to every target it struck."

I showed her the blade as she examined in from very close up, holding the steel blade in one hand.

"As you can see, the blade is very solid and sharp."

I demonstrated by slice a nearby branch clean off the tree.

"Now my other Magecraft ability is Reinforcement. It's not nearly as flashy Tracing, but it is also cheaper in terms of energy usage. Look how this blade fares against this rock."

I swung the blade at a moss covered rock. The blade bounced harmless off the rock, leaving behind a minor scratch.

"It doesn't do much right? Well Reinforcement is the adding of prana to a complete object to make it more 'perfect". If successful, I can amplify certain characteristics or even change its shape. Observe."

I quickly Reinforced the blade, making it sharper and harder. I swung the sword at the same rock, this time gouging out a noticeable chunk off its side. Blake's eyes widened in wonderment.

"So that's how you pulled your swords out of nowhere."

Her head nodded at the realization.

Wait, I only ever traced the bow and Caladbolg in front of her. What did she mean by swords. The only other times I had traced other swords had been during the Beowolf fight and during my morning practice. Could it be she was the one that had been observing me? It made sense, how she had known I hadn't actually done my morning routine today. Then again, Pyrrha could have told her about Kanshou and Bakuya, and she could have just woken up in the middle of the night to find me missing. It was time to find out, discretely of course.

"Blake, has Pyrrha ever told you about my other swords?" I asked, trying not to draw suspicion. Thankfully she was too busy ogling my traced sword to pay too much attention.

"No, well maybe once, I don't really remember." She said without looking up.

"Well I don't suppose you like waking up early like me." I tried probing a little further.

"If you're asking if I watched you swing your swords around in the morning, then yes. I was trying to find a nice quiet place to read, when I noticed the glint of one of your swords as I was walking by." She said nonchalantly. She then finally looked back up at me. "Also, Shirou you need to work on your discretion skills when it comes to interrogations, even an Ursa could figure out what you were trying to do."

I let what little pride I had in my discretion abilities slip away. It seems I wasn't exactly suited for a subtle approach. But that was okay, because for some reason I felt compelled to stand out.

"While this explains how you magically pull weapons out of thin air, how did you make the Death Stalker explode like that?"

It seemed nothing could slip by her. I traced Hrunting with my free hand, letting the longsword fade away.

"Remember when I said that I recreated the history? Well, that includes any power the weapon possessed, as well as the skill of the original wielder. Incidentally, then means the weapons get separated in rank, based on how powerful they are. The one I fired at the Death Stalker was a rather high level one, which I also charged with a large amount of energy to boost it another rank. The result was that the weapon became overloaded with energy, essentially breaking. In this state I could use it for one final strike that would release a massive explosion."

I explained, pausing at the end to breathe. Hrunting soon disappeared from my hand.

"So you shoot swords from your bow? Isn't that a little excessive?"

Her eyebrow raised as she smirked at me. I looked at her, unimpressed. I refused to acknowledge that comment. She just didn't appreciate my precious blades like I did.

"Even so, how do you come up with these swords? You mentioned history and past users. Are you getting these swords from somewhere?"

That was it, the big question. I debated telling her about my Reality Marble. The less people who knew about it, the better. It was my trump card, my ultimate move. It wasn't something I could tell just anyone. I hadn't even mentioned it to Ozpin. In fact, the only other person who knew about it, was currently roaming about the continent, whereabouts unknown, doing who knows what with his pack of Grimm.

But then I weighed Blake's words. She was right. As my teammate, it would benefit the both of us if we knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Besides, I knew in my heart, I could trust her with any secret without fear.

"They come from within my soul."

The statement seemed to catch her off guard. Her confused stare begged me to continue explaining.

"In my soul, there is a concept, a world, filled with blades. It contains every single sword, every blade I have ever seen in my life. It isn't limited to weapons only though. I have numerous pieces of armour and shields. I even have access to an enormous gold chain."

I paused, letting the information sink in. She seemed in awe of what I was telling her.

"If I have enough energy, I can even summon that world into reality for a short period of time. But since, the world is a representation of me, I first have to invoke it by chanting a poem about myself, of my life. Once it is deployed, I have instant access to every blade in my possession and can even control parts of the world."

"Wait"

I turned to look at her, slightly surprised by her interruption.

"Every blade, you said, that you've ever seen. Does that include..."

She trailed off, protectively touched the black sword on her back.

"Yes, even Gambol Shroud."

Her eyes betrayed her, showing fear and a sense of violation.

"Don't worry, I likely won't be tracing any of your weapons any time soon. The fact that they each have a gun component makes them exponentially more difficult to trace out, not to mention the traced gun parts can't fire anyway."

I waved my hand dismissively while touching her shoulder reassuringly. This seemed to placate her and her inquisitive look returned.

"So why tell me all this? You could have easily stopped at the magical sword part and I would have been none the wiser."

She frowned at me, staring at me like I was some kind of an enigma. Softly smiling, I took her hands in mine. Once again, surprise graced her face as she glanced back at me.

"It's because you asked me to trust you. I want you to know that I trust you wholeheartedly. I'll always have your back as you'll have mine, and so will Pyrrha and Ruby. We're a team and a team works together. Now you know all of my abilities and one of my deepest secrets. All I can ask of you is to trust me again."

Her breath choked as her faced tinged red. My eyes mirrored my steely resolve. She backed away from me and looked down.

"Thank you. For what you've done, for trusting in me, for being a good teammate." She never looked up as she said this, her voice growing quieter.

Smiling, I responded. "It's all because of you, you know? I'll tell Pyrrha and Ruby about my Magecraft in the morning. Goodnight Blake."

Turning, I started to walk away, when I heard a small voice.

"Wait."

I felt a delicate hand grasp my forearm. I heard the rustle of cloth and the hand pulled back. Slowly I turned around to face her.

In her hand was a black ribbon. It gripped the piece of cloth tightly, shaking even. Her eyes glistened, tears threatening to spill forth. Her mouth was firmly shut, quivering. And on top of her head, a pair of furry ears twitched nervously as I looked upon them.

"I'm a Faunus."

It was quiet, almost a whisper. She shivered in the cool night air, her body trembling in anxiety. She looked so fragile in the pale moonlight, as if she'd shatter at the slightest touch. Her eyes showed fear, fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal. Her breaths came in shudders, as she struggled to remain composed. Gone was the confident, stoic Blake I had met and grown accustomed to. Here stood a girl, baring her heart and soul, frightened of her own vulnerability.

I pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her close, my arms around her torso. She began to sob into my chest, and I rubbed her back soothingly. And like that we stood for what felt like an eternity, never breaking apart, reveling in the other's warmth.

"You're beautiful." I whispered in her ear. She pressed her tear-stained face against my neck and we stood there in tranquil silence as the full moon shined down on us from above.

-o-

"So you have a big room filled with weapons stored in your soul?" Ruby's eyes hadn't stop shining with glee since I started talking.

"It's more like a set of rolling hills with swords stuck the ground with giant churning metal gears in the sky." I rubbed the back of my head as I corrected her. "With weapons as far as the eye can see. It's more of a conceptual world than anything else."

The girls sat on their respective beds as I stood between them. I apologized for my previous deceit and explained my Magecraft to them.

"So that's where you kept getting those swords from." Pyrrha observed thoughtfully.

"Shirou is a magic knight!" Ruby exclaimed, jumped off her bed.

I stared at her dumbfounded. How was I supposed to respond to that?

"I hate to interrupt, but class is starting in 5 minutes." Blake was standing by the door, already ready to go.

And so our conversation ended in a mad dash and scramble down the hallway.

-o-

"Students, take notice of the information on your scrolls." The blonde teacher announced loudly.

We were situated in a large grey room with a stage in the center. Behind it, a massive screen was placed onto the wall, showing a secondary live feed of the arena. Around the sides of the stage were stands, filled with rows and rows of seats.

I looked down at the device in my hand. There was a great big black bar at the top of my screen, as well as an image of myself below it. To the side was a box labeled, 'Rank', which remained blank.

"Take notice of your Aura at the top of your screen. The green bar will change in accordance with your overall Aura, indicating your ability to continue fighting. When your Aura drops low enough, the bar will turn red, meaning you are no longer fit for combat, and the match will be over."

I glanced back at the black bar and bit my lip. This was going to be a problem.

"Perhaps it would be better to have a live demonstration. Mr. Winchester, Ms. Nikos, please enter the stage."

The class receded to the sides of the circular arena as the two stepped onto the stone platform. Glynda signaled for them to start, and they began to clash weapons.

"Mr. Emiya."

I turned to see the stern woman addressing me. She spoke in a hushed tone, quietly pulling me aside.

"Ozpin would like to meet with you. Seeing as you can't exactly participate." She gestured to the black bar on my Scroll. "Now would be an excellent time to go see him. He may also be able to help with your Aura."

Having done her duty, she returned to the side of the arena just in time to declare Pyrrha the victor as she disarmed Cardin.

-o-

"How is school for you so far?" Ozpin's silky voice drawled as I entered his office.

"It's alright, but I was expecting more combat lessons and Grimm fighting than lectures on history and tree sap collection." I replied with an amused tone.

Ozpin gave a small grin at my statement. He leaned forward in his leather swivel chair, bring his hands together, elbows resting on the edge of his desk.

"Our history teaches us the mistakes we've made, who we are, and what we stood for. It is a glimpse into mysterious workings of our collective minds, the development and growth of our people as a whole." His head tilted to the side as he looked at me through the screen sitting in the middle of his desk.

"But I suppose that statement doesn't necessarily apply to you." He stood up, taking his cane.

"And incidentally, that sap was delicious." A smirk appeared on his face, before it quickly dropped as he turned and walked to the clock face window.

"Yesterday, I received a report about a sudden rise in Grimm activity near a Huntsman outpost 10 kilometers beyond the outer limits of Vale. Normally, I would have sent a group of upper year students to go monitor and possibly eliminate the Grimm in the area." He spoke, staring out over the expansive school grounds, across the water, at the distant city.

"However, the report also stated that the Grimm weren't just stalking the edges of the forest like they normally do. They moved in organized formations, mimicking traditional strategies as well as some that we have never encountered before." He turned to me, eyes studying me, his mind calculating.

"I want you to investigate this occurrence." His voice sounded severe, any hints of our previous banter gone. He wanted to send me to investigate?

"But sir, I don't have much experience with Grimm. Why bother sending me at all?" I asked confused.

He walked swiftly to his desk and tapped something on the screen. An image of a mountain covered in deep green forest appeared. The picture then zoomed in near the bottom to show what I had thought was a forest. It was thousands of black beasts huddled in square formations. The picture zoomed yet again, causing everything to grow increasingly blurry. I blinked.

A figure stood on a boulder, any further details or shape indecipherable from its lack of definition. However, I would recognize that shade of gold anywhere. Gilgamesh had appeared once again.

-o-

_My body is made of swords,_

_My blood of fire, my heart of glass._

_I have survived countless battles,_

_Not even once retreating,_

_Not even once victorious._

_Always alone,_

_Forging iron on a hill of infinite swords._

_Thus, without any meaning,_

_My whole life was, the Unlimited Blade Works_

_-Shirou Emiya_

AN: Hey thanks for all the support and reviews for the first chapter! I'm just posting this to let you guys know that this fic isn't dead. I do have plans and ideas for the story, although I haven't quite fleshed out the later plotlines. I read all your reviews and I have gone back to edit the first chapter a few times since posting it.

If you look now, you may or may not notice that I switched UBW incantation at the end of the chapter to match the English translation version. And if you read the incantation above this, you'll notice that it was the original one I put (essentially the literal translation with a few tweaks). This is tied to why Shirou couldn't materialize his reality marble. When he was pulled into Remnant, he himself as a person was changed, thus his incantation shifted slightly, since it is based on who he is.

Also I think Kiritsugu was the one to put up the Emiya residence Bounded Field, but let's just pretend Shirou can put up a similar, weaker version. In regards to Aura, I'll just flat out say that Shirou doesn't have one. I plan to explore that a bit more in the next chapter.

One review mentioned that I was lacking a little on detail versus dialogue in the last chapter. I tried to keep that in mind when I wrote out most of this. I hope I improved at least. Some of the dialogue felt a little sappy or corny and I'm sure many of you will agree, but I'm not all that good with talking and mushy stuff. Speaking of which, romance won't be a main subplot for this story, more likely taking a sort of background thing which may pop up every once in a while. I haven't exactly chosen a pairing for Shirou, but it's at least narrowed down to three girls. It seems the end pairing changes every single time I start writing….

Anyway I know last time I said I didn't know if I would update, yet popped out this chapter a few days later. This time I actually don't know the next time I'll update since I have midterms in two weeks. As in 4 midterms in consecutive days in a single week. Sooooo I'll probably spend more time studying than anything else in the coming days. Wish me luck T-T

Oh and it was fun watching you guys trying to guess what the team names represented. In case you were still wondering, they're pronounced Team Saber (SBPR) and Team Winter (WYNR). Credit to /u/Just_one_more for helping me realize Saber fit waaaaaay better than Saphire. Also, yeah, I know Winter is one hell of a stretch, but I couldn't think of anything else. Refer to chapter one with Shirou's internal dialogue for my actual thoughts on team naming.

_Madgamer2k7 out._


	3. Chapter Three: Falling Towards the Sky

Chapter Three – Falling Towards the Sky

I gazed unblinkingly at the golden figure. What did this mean? Why and how was he controlling the Grimm?

"This is the reason I'm sending you. Out of everyone in Remnant, you're the only one who knows him, his power, the very aura he emanates. You are also the only one who knows how he fights." Ozpin leaned over his desk, arms extended, fingers splayed, pressing down on scattered papers. "Track his movements and find out what he's up to. If need be, clear out the Grimm in the area."

He was right of course. There was no way I would ever forget the unmistakable stench of power and darkness surrounding the King of Heroes. Not to mention, I possessed a sense for magic like a bloodhound, according to Rin. But there was still the problem with the Grimm. I may have grown stronger, but I didn't have the power and endurance to defeat over a thousand Grimm, especially with my Reality Marble out of commission.

"Sir, what about the Grimm? I can't handle that many on my own, not to mention Gilgamesh himself. You told me I wasn't ready to face him yet."

"And you aren't. However, he remains elusive, and my gut tells me that you will be able to find him, whether it would be through tracking or luck. Try to avoid confrontation if at all possible." He straightened to take a sip from his mug. "As for the Grimm, I shall send an upper year team to escort you. One of the second year leaders has been insisting I send her team on a more... difficult mission. Suffice to say, I think this should do nicely."

Wait that would mean my team would stay here without me. Actually that was good. I'd rather they stayed away as far as they could from the golden Servant.

"When will we leave?" It would be better to leave sooner than later. The idea of the arrogant king building an army unnerved me.

"You leave in 3 hours. I hope that's enough time for you to gather your supplies. The team escorting you will meet you at Air pad 5 before you board. Also a good cover for your Magecraft abilities would be to call it your Semblance." He looked me up and down. "Ah, on that note, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss, concerning your Aura."

My head perked up as he mentioned this. This was something I was curious about, my Aura situation.

"Our initial sensors in the drones indicated that your Aura was inactive during your adventures in the Emerald Forest. However, the more sensitive and accurate sensors in your Scroll indicate that your ambient Aura is so low, it's not even registering." He walked over to me, examining my body. "Given the fact that you are conscious and walking, it makes no sense for your Aura to be that low."

He placed a hand over my chest, eyes narrowing.

"Do you mind if I try something?" His voice sounded plain as though he was masking his emotions, but his eyes told another story. They sparkled with a vivid curiosity as he continued studying my chest.

"Go ahead." Truth be told, I was just as curious as he was, though I wondered what he was trying to do.

I felt a tiny surge of energy spread from my chest. Tendrils of mysterious energy swished around as they palpated my very soul. Sensing a foreign intruder, I felt my circuits unconsciously switch on, flooding with prana and driving the strange feeling away and out of my body.

Ozpin suddenly jerked his hand back, as if he had touched a hot stove. His eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and fear, and he stumbled backwards away from me. Closing his eyes and breathing in, he collected himself before speaking.

"It would appear as though you genuinely do not possess any type of Aura at all. I used my own Aura to try to unlock yours, but found nothing at first. The infrastructure of your soul is very strange. I encountered a sort of conduit which transferred energy very well. However the moment I touched it, I felt a powerful backlash, violently pushing my Aura out of you and into my hand." He nursed the appendage gingerly. He grimaced as he continued. "Whatever power you used, chased my Aura all the way into my body. It feels somewhat painful, like an electric shock."

I grinned knowingly at him. Serves him right for injecting energy into my body. I thought he was just feeling my heart beat or something less invasive.

"That was probably from my Magic Circuits. They automatically reject any foreign energy that enters them, except in special circumstances." I blushed as I remembered Rin's and my prana exchange rituals.

"Ah yes, your Magic Circuits. They seem to be composed of something entirely different in comparison to our bodies here in Remnant. On a positive note, our two energies, your prana and my Aura, seem to be similar enough that you should have no trouble activating Dust." He put his injured hand in his pocket as he grabbed his coffee off of his desk.

"That should conclude our meeting, if you don't have any concerns or questions. Be at Air pad 5 in 3 hours. That is all. Good luck, Shirou" Ozpin resumed his usual position behind his desk as he sat down to watch me leave.

I nodded to him and exited his study deep in thought. Just how did he think I was going to track Gilgamesh? Granted, I was definitely the right person for the task, but I knew nothing of the area's geography. That would be like dropping me into a forest at night and telling me to follow a unmarked path with no flashlight. Maybe I'd get lucky and it would turn out that Beowolves actually marked their territory.

-o-

I opted to tell my teammates that I was leaving on a mission related to my Magecraft. What I didn't tell them about was the very existence of Gilgamesh. I may have trusted my teammates to have my back, but I absolutely did not want them to get tangled up with the King of Heroes, for both their sake and mine.

They were all severely disappointed that they weren't included in the mission. I tried to explain the danger, but they remained adamant that they should be by my side.

Strangely, all three of them disappeared sometime during lunch and I walked to the air pad alone. It felt a little sad that our disagreement caused them to not even want to see me off.

I was greeted by a girl wearing sunglasses and a beret. Her clothing was clearly chosen with fashion in mind, all coloured in shades of brown. Actually, after glancing at all of them, brown seemed to be more of a team colour than an individual fashion choice.

The next one was a dark-skinned man with reverse blades on his gauntlets, extending up past his arms, which were riddled with scars. He simply nodded at me without saying anything as I moved on to the third member.

She looked just as surprised as I was when I walked in front of her. It seemed the rabbit Faunus was very happy to see me and she quietly thanked me as I moved past her.

The final member was absolutely massive. I had thought Cardin was a giant, but this guy stood over a head taller than the bully. He carried a massive sword on his back, and I wondered vaguely how he would even fit into the ship. Like the other male member on the team, he simply nodded with his arms folded while I walked past him and stepped up the ramp and into the airship.

It was actually more spacious than I thought, though that might have more to do with the lack of people jammed into it like the one we returned from the forest in. Up front, I could see a sliver of the pilot and co-pilot through the partially open cabin door. Without looking back, one of them reached back and pulled the door completely shut, locking it with a click. Come to think of it, why did this small airship even need a co-pilot? I guess it didn't matter as long we got to our destination in one piece.

Tossing my packed bag onto an overhead rack next to a long bumpy duffel bag, I took a seat by one of the small round windows of the aircraft.

My escorts boarded shortly after, quickly tossing their backs onto the rack. I glanced around as I thought I heard a squeak come from the bags. Shaking my head, I only hoped whatever made the noise wouldn't get into my bag.

The leader reintroduced herself as Coco, leader of team CFVY, before gesturing to the others to do the same. The dark-skinned one with the white eyes was named Fox, the shy Faunus girl was Velvet, and the big guy was named Yatsuhashi.

My eyebrow raised as I heard him introduce himself. His name was heavily reminiscent of a Japanese dessert. Maybe there was a Japan equivalent here in Remnant that I could visit.

I asked him where he came from, but was disappointed to find out that he and his family were actually from here in Vale. Another hope shot down before it could sprout wings.

The intercom blared to life in a shower of ear rending static before going silent. All of us covered our ears and stared with annoyed expressions at the speaker, confused. What the heck was that?

The speaker clicked on again, this time without assaulting our auditory senses, before a low somewhat familiar voice spoke.

"Hello"

A faint 'Sorry!' Could be heard in the background.

"This is your captain, B- uh Billy, speaking. I apologize for that. My colleague accidentally turned the volume up all the way." This person's voice sounded weird. In fact, it almost sounded like a girl was trying to speak really low like a man, but was inconsistent with the pitching.

A second 'Sorry' was heard again in the background.

"Anyway, the trip should take a little less than an hour, depending on the wind speeds and Grimm activity. That is all." Despite saying that, the PA system remained on, the faint whine of the speakers still present.

'Do -ou -v-n -no- -ow to -ly -is th-n-'

'Y-s, I've -lo-n a- -rsh-p b-f-r-'

'Oh shoot'

The speakers finally went silent as one of them realized it was still on. I could swear I heard those muffled voices before. Maybe I had chatted with the pilots at some point. I remember helping with repairs one time when I passed by the air docks while sneaking into the kitchens.

The engines revved as the entire ship vibrated strongly. The aircraft lifted shakily into the air, wobbling slightly as it did so. Across from me, Velvet looked absolutely terrified, gripping her seat harness tightly. I gave her a reassuring smile, but even I was a little nervous about the takeoff.

The ship finally managed to right itself as it exited the large platform. From there the flight became relatively smooth as we soared over the city of Vale.

Below us were tiny little houses and streets, filled with even tinier specks, moving about. Cars looked like colourful ants as they filled the streets near the downtown area. In the bustling busy part of the city, skyscrapers pierced the clouds, reflecting the city below, off of their glass walls.

We soon passed over the city walls. They were actually quite massive and very thick. Each wall reached up to 90 meters in the air and at least 20 meters wide, encircling the entire city. On its outside were many strategically placed towers armed with huge guns, likely for fighting Grimm.

The ground transitioned into green as we flew over the endless forests outside of Vale. Every so often I could see little black specks moving slowly in the clearings.

I suddenly felt a spear of nervousness in my gut. Somehow, I could tell something was about to happen. The airship suddenly rolled to the side, jerking around all the cabin occupants. I gritted my teeth as I was thrown violently against my harness, my body leaving my seat, held only in place by the straps across my shoulders and chest.

Craning my head, I looked out window behind me. The reinforced glass was heavily scratched and through the frayed barrier, I saw a solitary black feather float by.

The intercom crackled and the pilot's voice blared through the speakers.

"It appears we have company. A flock of Nevermores seem to think we're food. Why don't one of you back there teach them a lesson."

The ship evened out, letting me fall back into my seat. I glanced around to see if everyone was alright, but noticed they were all staring at me. Was there something on my face?

Coco grinned and nodded her head at me, her orange curl of hair whipping in motion with her head.

"Hey newbie, why don't you show us what you can do?" Her cocky smile never faded as she looked down condescendingly at me.

Rolling my eyes, I unstrapped my harness and stood up unsteadily. I struggled to grab onto a metal bar as the ship turned again. This wasn't going to work if the airship kept jerking around.

Making my way to the big guy, I waited for the doors to start rolling open. Turning to him, I called out over the roar of the wind.

"Yatsuhashi, hold me in place!"

I felt a pair of massive hands wrap around my skinny waist very firmly, securing me as I let go of the handhold.

As the hatch fully opened, I traced my bow, counting 5 black birds chasing us in a V formation.

They weren't nearly as big as the one Team WYNR defeated, but together they posed more of a threat than the single large one. They screeched as they started gaining on the ship.

Lifting my bow, I traced Hrunting. The black spiral sword would be perfect for this task, since precision aim would be difficult with the sudden movements of the aircraft. There was no need to break the Phantasm, its aggressive seeking capabilities were more than enough. I didn't need to destroy the birds, just clip their wings.

With a twang of my bow, the black projectile was let loose, slicing the air as it sped towards its target.

An important characteristic of Hrunting was that it would mercilessly chase its target as long as I kept my aim on it. Even if it was deflected, dodged, or even impaled through something, the Hound of the Red Plains would swerve and twist in the air to hit its mark.

Taking advantage of this ability, I let the sword fly through one of the surprised birds, disintegrating the avian menace, before it struck another and then embedded in the actual target. As two of them evaporated into black mist, the third tumbled helplessly out of the sky, unable to fly. Just like that, only two remained.

The remaining monsters smartened up and flew apart from each other, each flanking the sides of the ship. I frowned as they escaped my window of attack.

The ship was violently thrown about as the masked beasts assaulted its hull. Unfortunately for us, the birds were faster than the airship, and were able to stay to the sides of the ship, out of my reach.

The sound of harsh static brought me to look back at the intercom. The pilot's worried voice spilled through the crackling, slightly muffled by the sound of the rushing wind from the open back.

"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it! Get ready to shoot out the back in a moment!"

Suddenly everything in the cabin was weightless. My eyes widened as the ground was no longer visible out the hatch. Yatsuhashi's vice grip tightened even more as we plummeted out of the sky.

Struggling to lift my bow arm, I Reinforced it to hold steady as I traced Hrunting again. The pair of Nevermore once again came into view. With a whisper, I let the arrow fly.

A squawk and a puff of black smoke indicated one of them had been eliminated as the sword chased after the second bird.

The aircraft suddenly shuddered harshly as one of the engines rattled ominously. The sudden motion shifted my bow, causing the black sword to miss its target by an inch and fly out, making a wide U-turn.

"We have to pull up!" Fox cried as he looked out the window at the approaching ground. Coco's eyes remained fixed on me, watching me, studying me.

"Not yet." I muttered through gritted teeth. "Just a bit more."

The bird was gaining on the ship, claws outstretched, ready tear apart the back of the ship. With a terrible crunch, it grabbed onto the back of the airship, flapping its wings wildly. It jabbed its beak in through the ship's opening barely missing my chest. However, it didn't miss Yatsuhashi's arm, which was knocked aside, causing him to let me go.

Thwack!

The bird's frantic attacks came to a halt as thin black steel protruded its chest, a twist of dark metal and monster blood. Both the monster and my sword faded away, as I tumbled about the cabin.

"Hang on to something, we're pulling up" The pilot must have sensed that the Grimm had been vanquished as the ship began to level out quickly.

Sliding towards the still open, damaged doors, I panicked, reaching around trying to grab onto something. My fingertips met nothing but the cold corrugated steel floor. With a short gasp, I tumbled out the back of the airship.

-o-

And was immediately caught by a small delicate hand. I looked up to see Velvet gripping my arm tightly, a fierce look on her normally meek face. She had unstrapped herself and leapt out of the aircraft to grab me. Holding her other arm was Yatsuhashi who was still strapped in and grasping her hand with both of his.

"I've got you, Shirou." A small smile graced her intense features.

The rabbit eared Faunus kept her firm grip on me as the aircraft leveled and began to ascend again. As the airship returned to cruising, Velvet pulled me in with the help of Yatsuhashi who had now unstrapped himself.

We tumbled back into the ship, a mess of tangled limbs. Laying on my back, I looked up to Coco standing over me, a cheeky smirk on her face.

"Not bad, rookie. A little rough at the end there, but not bad." She extended her hand and helped me to my feet. "Nice job, Velvet, Yatsu."

With a relieved sigh, I strapped myself back into my seat, looking out the open back of the ship. I really hoped that was it. I didn't think I could handle any more excitement during this ride.

The static-filled buzz of the somehow still functioning speakers burst to life again.

"So, I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we're almost there. The bad news is that the Nevermores took out one of engines and our landing gear. Hold onto to something!"

No sooner than the pilot finished speaking did the entire airship begin to list and plummet. I pressed my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut waiting for the inevitable crash.

The sounds of leaves rustling and branches snapping announced our arrival at the tree canopies. The sounds of wood splintering and heavy scratching soon followed afterward. A small branch flew in from the back and whacked me across the face, stunning me a bit. Moments later there was a collective violent jerk downward as bottom of the ship met the ground and mashed its way through dirt and stone, tunneling a huge trench behind us.

Everything was still for a moment, before that blasted sound system buzzed on again.

"Is everyone alright? We've landed...sort of." The voice was no longer deep, revealing an extremely familiar female tone.

The cabin door opened revealing Blake and Pyrrha wearing headsets. Pyrrha's face was absolutely green as she pushed her way past Blake and out the back of the ship, emptying the contents of her stomach.

I stared dumbfounded at the cat-eared Faunus as she ignored me, released the securing straps for the bags, pulled the duffel bag out with a grunt, and dragged it outside before finally unzipping it.

A familiar red-head sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and back, before looking back at us, bleary-eyed.

"What did I miss?"

-o-

The three of them kept their eyes downcast, staring at the ground guiltily as I paced before them furiously.

Coco and the others had gone to check out the base, while my team remained near the entrance.

I continued to flatten the grass as I walked back and forth in front of them, trying to think of something to say. What were they thinking? Commandeering an airship and following me all the way out here? Especially with the fact that _he_ was supposed to be in the area.

Pyrrha was the first to look up. Her eyes shone with both guilt and determination. Clearing her throat, she spoke.

"Shirou, I know that you are angry with us, and for good reason, but we are your teammates. We're meant to help each other out." She stood tall and confident as she talked.

I sighed. She was right, but I wasn't mad that they came to help. I was mad that they came to help on this mission in particular, but they had no way of knowing that. Perhaps it was my fault for not disclosing the exact details of my mission. Or perhaps that would have caused them to come with even more conviction. Either way, they were stranded here with me and Team CFVY.

"Look, I'm not angry that you came." Their heads raised in surprise. "It's just that this mission in particular has the potential to be extremely dangerous, and I don't want any of you to get hurt."

"Don't worry Shirou, we'll be able to face anything together!" Ruby exclaimed, striking a heroic pose. Despite her enthusiasm, I couldn't remove the feeling of dread in my gut.

"Yo!" We all turned to see Coco waving at us from the building's entrance. "Come inside! It's all empty! There's no one here."

That was odd. The courtyards and buildings looked undamaged for the most part. Did they all flee somewhere?

The feeling of dread began to spread as we walked through the empty compound. There was an ominous feel in the air, just pressing down on us as we approached the building.

"I've radioed Ozpin. He's sent another airship to pick us up. Unfortunately, it's going to take at least an hour to arrive." Coco nonchalantly commented as we walked through the creepy complex.

The most eerie part of the entire place was the silence. Aside from our footsteps and Coco spitting to the side, there not a single sound, from the rustle of a leaf to the chirp of a bird. There was an unnatural stillness here, as if all the life had been sucked dry.

We entered the building to find the rest of Team CFVY standing huddled together just beside the entrance. All three of them seemed uneasy, in fact, the only person here who seemed outwardly unaffected was Coco. She strutted about the place, examining the empty rooms before turning back to us with a frown on her face.

"That's really strange. Everything looks like it was being used until recently. It's as if everyone just up and vanished." She shrugged her shoulders while glancing around.

Based on pure appearance alone, the interior of the building looked relatively normal. Dim fluorescent lights flickered throughout the room, casting light shadows across various the various furniture. The room itself seemed to be a combination of rooms merged into one, as if someone had torn down the walls that separated them. There was an open kitchen to the side of the foyer, stocked with a sink, microwave and coffeemaker. On the other side, were two sets of sofas, turning facing a large television set with various consoles and players set up in front of it. In the back was a long hallway that seemed to turn to the right at the end.

I walked over to the space designated as the kitchen. There was a mug of what I assumed to be coffee placed on the counter next to the microwave. However, more important than its contents, was the fact that it was still warm, thin wisps of steam still rising.

Whipping my head towards the others, I called out. "Guys, ready your weapons. They haven't been gone for long. Whatever did this, it might still be here."

My statement caused each of them to stiffen and draw their weapons. Blake glanced warily around at each shadowy corner. I rejoined them as we move cautiously down towards the hallway.

I sniffed the air around us. It did have the stench of death that I associated with Grimm, but it was overpowered by another stronger magic residue. It reeked of malice and hate, its evil power suffocating.

Tracing Kanshou and Bakuya, I stepped forward, following the stifling magic residue. Reaching the end of the hallway, my eyes widened in shock as we turned the corner.

The walls were literally painted with blood. As we traversed down the blood-stained passage, more and more signs of battle appeared. Doors were smashed in, chunks of wall gouged out. The windows were smashed letting the cool outside air seep in. Deep narrow gashes and bullet holes riddled everything we passed. There had clearly been some struggle here, yet not a single body was found. Aside from the obvious blood, there were no traces of the people who spilt it.

A scream rang out from the last room in the hall. Glancing at each other, we sprinted down the hall, avoiding slipping on the wet patches. Skidding in through the doorway, I froze.

A large Ursa stood in the center of the room, its back nearly touching the ceiling. The walls looked much the same as the hallway, bloody and battle-scarred. Standing nervously behind the humongous monster, were four men wearing masks, similar to the ones that adorned the black beast. In front of the giant beast, stood a man, his golden armour almost glowing in the dim light. In his outstretched hand, was a strangled neck of a limp man, surrounded in tendrils of darkness.

With a callous toss, the deceased man landed against the wall and was promptly torn apart and consumed by the dark bear.

I backed up out of the doorway, signaling for the others to remain silent.

"The souls of this world are delicious." The golden haired man spoke, arms extended to his side, parallel from the ground. Turning to the frightened group of masked soldiers he spoke with a sneer. "This base shall do nicely. Clean it and set up operations as per Taurus' instructions. My presence is needed elsewhere."

As I kept backing up, I heard Blake gasp. She darted forward past me into the room. A bolt of terror shot through me. I scrambled after her, trying to stop her, but to no avail.

Everyone in the room, turned to face her as she burst into the room. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the masked men. She pointed at them and called out.

"Why are members of the White Fang aiding this human? Where is Adam Taurus?" Her voice was alarmed and strained.

"It seems we didn't clear out all the vermin here." The arrogant king folded his arms as portals appeared behind him. The masked soldiers scrambled to get out of the way. Blake looked like a deer in headlights as a wall of swords began flying at her.

Thwack! Thwack!

Tsing!

The sound of steel clashing echoed throughout the room. I stood in front of the frozen Faunus girl, Kanshou and Bakuya in each hand.

"Faker!" Gilgamesh's voiced was strained with absolute fury. His eyes blazed as he glared daggers at me.

I returned his maniacal look with my own cool, steely gaze. Without a word, I lifted my black sword and pointed it at him.

Swords began appearing behind him. He brought his hand up, ready to fire, before he suddenly paused. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Opening his red eyes, he gave me an arrogant smirk. The wall of swords suddenly turned completely around, facing the wall behind him.

"As entertaining as it would be to skewer you as you stand here, mongrel, I have another engagement that proves to be more worthwhile." With a wave of his hand, the wall behind him was obliterated into chunks of stone and concrete.

Behind the curtain of dust an airship filled with bewildered soldiers touched down. A rouge beast head with three scratch marks behind it was painted on the hull of the vehicle. A red haired man with horns stepped out of the open side, red and white mask covering his face. He stood just outside the impromptu exit as Gilgamesh nodded at him and stepped past him, followed by his pet bear.

I threw both my swords at the king's back. They didn't even make it out of the room. The horned man stood with his red katana sheathed at his side. The movements had been so quick I almost didn't even see them. With a harsh gravelly voice, he barked at the masked men in the destroyed room.

"Get in! This base is compromised." His hidden gaze swept over me, before lingering on Blake behind me. He turned and walked back towards the airship followed by his lackeys.

"Wait! Adam! Why are you doing this?" Blake cried out from behind me, still rooted in her spot.

The red-haired man paused in front of the ship, and turned his head. In a low voice he spoke with a sneer.

"You know why."

With that, he walked past the golden king and climbed into the ship.

Gilgamesh stood next to the ship looking at it with disgust.

"If my Vimana wasn't currently being repaired, I'd be insulted just to touch this this... thing." He put one finger on the side of the grimy ship, looking at the large Grimm sitting on the ground next to him.

"Why don't you take care of the vermin." With a brush of his hand through its black fur, the creature began growing. He stepped into the aircraft with a laugh, and it took off instantly.

The black Ursa continued growing in size until it had at least doubled in size, towering over the destroyed building as it stood on its hind legs. Behind it, hundreds of Grimm emerged from the trees, snarling and bloodthirsty.

Team CFVY soon joined me as we stared dumbfounded at the approaching army of darkness. It was going to be impossible to hold out in this destroyed room, not with the goliath grizzly bearing down on us. Turning to my team, I shouted.

"Head back down the hallway!" We could use the building's walls to slow the Ursa's advancement and funnel the smaller Grimm.

However, like all the other massive Grimm we had faced, this giant Ursa was deceptively fast. It charged at me as I ran back to the hallway, the members of Team CFVY barely diving out of its way.

It smashed into the back wall, tearing the ceiling apart as it pushed its way through the shattered room. Blake and I leapt into the hallway, avoiding the charging black mass. Pyrrha and Ruby helped us up, before Ruby zipped down the hallway in a swirl of petals.

We took off after her as the great beast shouldered its way through the doorframe, tearing off chunks of the wall as it did so. Unfortunately, the hallway ceiling was much higher, not quite impeding the Ursa as much as the previous room.

As we ducked around the corner, I vaguely wondered how Team CFVY was holding up. I had counted at least one hundred Grimm at first glance. I could only hope their extra experience with Grimm would count for something.

"The coast is clear!" Ruby called out from the main entrance of the building.

She pulled the mechanical scythe off her back and planted the tip of the blade into the ground. With a fierce grin, she began unloading shot after shot at the raging monster behind us. The bullets themselves didn't seem to slow it down much, but its grunts of pain gave us the energy for a little burst of speed as we sprinted past her.

Lifting the tip of the blade out of the ground, Ruby pressed a switch on her scythe before turning around, facing away with her scythe trained on the rampaging masked bear. With a final shot resembling a bright red starburst, she rocketed past us.

An explosion rocked the building we just escaped, red light illuminating the already sunny grounds. Stopping at the gates, we turned around to examine the dust filled building.

Ruby jumped into the air, fist pumping. "Aww yeah, we kicked that Ursa's butt!"

As if just to prove her wrong, it came charging out of the wrecked entrance, enraged, its red glowing eyes spewing hatred.

"Oh come on!" Ruby pouted for a second before looking at me. "What do we do now? There's tons of Grimm on the other side of the gate."

Sure enough, snarls and growling could be heard from the other side of the tall concrete wall. I contemplated our options briefly as I watched the gargantuan bear Grimm approach.

The evac ship wasn't due for a little bit, so we didn't have a way of escaping the horde of Grimm. Our best bet was to fight off the Ursa until help arrived and to hope the wall held until then.

"Scatter!" I cried out. If we didn't move from here, the Ursa would slam into the gates, letting in the masses of Grimm outside.

We all shot out in different directions from the wall. Pyrrha and I went to the right of the Ursa, while Ruby and Blake went to its left.

The massive monster looked between the two groups, as if trying to decide which to pursue. Its eyes settled on me and it veered towards its right.

We needed a plan. This thing was like an unstoppable object, trucking through anything we threw at it. Setting up another heavy hitting finisher didn't seem very possible at the moment. Our best bet was to keep attacking it with small strikes, whittling its health down while dodging its heavy blows.

Ruby and Blake were well suited to this task given their extra speed over mine and Pyrrha's. We could act as decoys and distractions, and if need be, strike from longer range.

"Ruby, Blake, I need you to do quick attacks on the Ursa. Get in, slash, and get out. Pyrhha and I will act as decoys and distract it while you attack." I called out over my shoulder at the dark-haired girls.

I grunted. The moment we got back to Beacon, I was going schedule mandatory team training sessions. Our number of practised single-target maneuvers was sorely lacking.

Noticing the two approach, I signaled to Pyrrha to stop running. We turned to face the charging beast and rolled to the side as it reached us. It stopped and turned to face us, claws ready. Perfect.

As it raised its paws to strike at us, a red blur zipped by its belly, leaving a large gash. It roared and stumbled back a bit, but was given no time to breathe as a pair of black swords delivered two blows to its exposed back.

With a groan of pain, it swiped to its side, where the black-haired beauty had been. A shot to its neck pulled its attention back to us as Pyrrha fired her rifle at it. The monster's black blood spilled all over the dirt field as it received more and more slashes from the quick duo. Death by a thousand cuts indeed.

I personally had traced my bow and fired off basic sword arrows at it. I frowned as they were easily deflected by giant black paws. Despite losing a lot of blood, the immense beast still seemed to grow stronger with rage, but it was also showing signs of deterioration as the guerilla attacks took their toll. If it wasn't for the fact that Ruby and Blake were in close proximity, I might have even been able take it down with a powerful Noble Phantasm.

It started in my gut, a sense of worry, of impending misfortune. Like on the ship, somehow I could feel something was about to go wrong. Firing off another arrow, I watched as it shallowly imbedded in the Ursa's shoulder. That was odd, the paw that should have parried it was swiping downward... at a surprised Ruby.

Time seemed to slow down, as her eyes widened and she attempted to bring up Crescent Rose to block. The shaft managed to intercept the claw, but it bent and shattered from the heavy impact. The massive paw collided with Ruby's chest, driving her hard down into the dusty dirt. The back of her head slammed and bounced off the solid ground and she went limp.

"Ruby!" Blake let out a strangled cry, before looking to the side in surprise. The other massive black paw caught her in the ribs while she was distracted, and the cat-eared Faunus was sent rapidly tumbling along the ground, until she hit the concrete wall with a resounding thud.

My heart dropped in my chest as I watched two of my teammates, two of my dearest friends go down. Pyrrha stood frozen beside me, disbelief and shock etched onto her face. I didn't have time to gawk, as I noticed the Ursa turn back to the incapacitated Ruby with its paw raised, its sharp claws splayed out.

My mind went blank as I Reinforced my entire body, closing the gap between us in a split second. Sliding in front of her, I gazed up at the monstrous bear, its red eyes burning with malice and fury. With my arms out to the side, body Reinforced, I shielded her.

Thud.

"Shirou!" That voice. It was Pyrrha's.

A streak of bright red hair flashed by me as my partner charged and bashed the colossal Grimm backwards in pure rage.

I looked down at myself and blinked as I glimpsed a mess of splintered bone and torn flesh. It seemed my Reinforcement hadn't been strong enough. I stared numbly at my wound as I confusedly examined the damage.

My right shoulder had almost been torn off, leaving a large gap of bone, muscle and lung, running all the way down to my lower ribs. My head felt woozy as I looked down, the agonized cry of Pyrrha in the background as she attempted to slay the Grimm by herself.

Falling to my knees, I could swear I started hearing scraping, like when I sharpened my kitchen knives. I focused my blurring vision back onto my wound. In my dream-like state, I watched as thousands of jagged blades protruded from the edges of the injury, extending and weaving together, knitting back together the massive gap.

_**My body is made of swords**_

In spite of the current situation, I let out a small laugh that gurgled with blood. It seemed even in my last moments I would be surrounded by blades.

I pulled my head upwards and saw Pyrrha. The black monster rained blows down on her. Her face was soaked in tears and grief as she brought up her shield with all her strength time and time again to meet the massive paws. My blood began to boil as I watched the monster hammer down on the shield of my partner.

_**My blood of fire**_

Trying to get up, I stumbled, my hand landing next to Ruby. I gazed upon her peaceful face, before seeing the slowly growing pool of blood surrounding her head. The red liquid stained her hood a darker shade and contrasted quite sharply from her incredibly pale face which contained splatters of my own blood. I felt my heart shatter as I took in her limp form.

_**My heart of glass**_

With a sudden surge of newfound strength, I pulled myself to my feet, right arm dangling uselessly at my side. I staggered forward towards Pyrrha and the Ursa.

Pyrrha cried out as her arm finally gave way, and she fell to the ground, clutching her shoulder. She looked back at her would-be executioner with a defiant look in her eyes. The Ursa stood tall on its hind legs, both front claws raised high, ready to stamp its last victim to death.

I was not going to let that happen. My mind blacked out momentarily as I ran towards the monster. No matter what, I had to save _someone_.

An image formed in my mind. It was a sword, so familiar, as though I had seen it many times, and yet I knew without a doubt I had never laid eyes on it before. It sang to me, calling out for me to use it. So be it. I pulled the sword from the stone.

A blinding golden light exploded out over the area. The massive Ursa stumbled backwards with a roar of pain. Its severed paws lay on the ground next to Pyrrha, who watched me in wonderment.

In my left hand, I wielded a golden sword, its hilt, guard and blade all ornately decorated, a sword befitting a king.

Dragging my feet into position, I pulled the sword back and waited. The enraged Ursa stampeded towards me, running on the stumps where its paws used to be. It leapt in the air, intending to crush me with its weight alone.

The sword was ready. It willed me to use it. It cried for me to call its name. With a smirk, I whispered in a low voice.

"_Caliburn_"

The entire compound radiated with blinding light. The Ursa was bathed in golden energy before it completely disintegrated. Not even the black particles were spared as they were swallowed in light. And just like that, it was gone, without a trace.

The sword shattered in my grip as the pieces faded away. I fell once more to my knees as as the world grew fuzzy and muffled. I was vaguely aware of someone calling my name, but I couldn't even make it out as I fell backwards. Pyrrha's worried face filled the last of my fading vision as I was swallowed into the darkness.

o-o

Gargantuan metal gears hung in the sky. I blinked as I lay on my back staring into the sky. Shifting my head to the sides, I saw hundreds upon thousands of blades lining the dusty dirt hills.

With a groan, I sat up and looked at myself. There weren't any wounds on my body, in fact it was pristine and healthy. I knew that, because for some reason, I was butt naked.

Standing up, I brushed some dirt off before stretching. I was back in my Reality Marble. This was actually the first time I had visited it without actually deploying it. It was also my first time seeing it since it failed to materialize in the forest.

"Shirou." A woman's voice sounded behind me. I knew that voice. It was absolutely unmistakable.

Whipping around, I turned to see a small blonde woman in a kneeling sitting position. Her green eyes sparkled in amusement as her mouth cracked a small smile.

"Saber."

o-o

"Saber what around doing here?" I asked walking towards her.

She blushed as she watched me approach, her hand over her mouth. "Shirou, I suggest you stop moving about so much until you produce yourself some clothing."

My face burned red as her eyes never left my hip area. I quickly covered myself with my hands before crying out with embarrassment. "How do I do that?"

"Well, this is your world right? I'm sure you can do anything you want here." She calmly commented with a smile.

The next moment, my favourite white and blue shirt appeared on my torso, a pair a jeans on my legs. With a relieved sigh, Sat down in front of her.

"How are you here? Is this just a dream?" I asked curiously.

"If this were a dream, would I not simply deny that anyway?" She replied amused.

"However, in all seriousness, Rin used her last Command Seal to send me after you and protect you. Unfortunately, the command was too vague and you had traveled so far, that I was unable to materialize a physical body here. Instead, I only had enough strength to latch onto your soul, effectively residing in your Unlimited Blade Works." She explained with poise and dignity.

"At first I tried reaching out to you in your dreams, but my influence was so weak, it didn't even register with you. I was only able establish contact with you that night you failed to materialize your Reality Marble. Even then I had to fight with another dream of yours just to reach you." The petite swordswoman continued.

"It seems your aria has changed since you tumbled into the corrupted grail and ended up here, which is why it didn't activate. Either way, even now my connection with you is weak, and failing by the second." Saber paused to take a breath.

The air seemed to grow thicker. Just as before, the world began to swirl and fade, becoming muffled and fuzzy. I could barely make out the last of her words as she shouted at me.

"I need to tell you. It's no- b-c-use o- t-e Grail!" Her voice was completely cut off as the world slipped away from around. A flurry of voices seemed to come and go into the void until it was silent again. And with a gasp, I woke up.

o-o

The first thing I felt was a faint pain. It radiated from my right side, spreading throughout much of my chest and shoulder. My left arm on the other hand, was really warm and a little wet for some reason. My eyelids pulled open as my eyes tried to adjust to the new light level.

The first thing I saw was the white ceiling tiles. When had been the last time I had seen those? The day Kiritsugu became my father. A bittersweet warmth blossomed in my chest as I thought of him.

Craning my stiff neck, I finally was able to see the mysterious source of warmth and pressure on my left arm.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the red hood. So she was alright. The memory of her lying limp in a pool of blood chilled me to my core.

I couldn't help but smile as I listened to her snore softly and drool a bit onto my arm and bed. There was something inside of me that wanted to protect her so fiercely.

Perhaps it was because she reminded me somewhat of Ilya. I grimaced as I remembered seeing the Gilgamesh grasping her heart. Watching that made me feel as though he had ripped mine out too and was holding it in his cruel grasp.

Trying not to disturb the slumbering Ruby, I turned my stiff neck to look down at my other side. There wasn't much I could see through the hospital gown, but it didn't seem particularly lumpy with padding.

Tentatively, I tried opening and closing my right hand. The muscles in my arm ached a bit as they stretched and contracted after being left unused for a while.

Feeling a bit more adventurous, I tried to lift my entire arm up. A sharp lance of pain shot through my chest and shoulder. I let a small grunt as I let my arm fall back to the bed.

"Shirou?" The warmth from my left arm had disappeared.

I turned my head to see a red-eyed Ruby looking at me, eyelids half open. Her lower lip quivered as she watched my face.

"Hey Ruby." My voice was incredibly soft yet harsh at the same time, cracking as I said her name. I cleared my throat as Ruby handed me a glass of water from a nearby tray.

Gulping the water greedily, I handed the empty cup back to her, thanking her.

"Are you alright Shirou?" Her worried eyes never left mine.

"I'm fine, never been better." I smiled reassuringly at her, reaching up with my working arm and touched her gently on her chin.

Tears spilled out of her silver eyes as she buried her face between my shoulder and the bed.

"It's all my fault you got hurt. It's all my fault everyone got hurt." Her sobs were muffled as she pressed her face into the bedding.

"You got hurt all because I wasn't skilled enough and got taken out. I heard from the others how you saved my life and almost died." She pulled her head up enough to look at me.

"But it wasn't just you, they wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't convinced them to sneak into the ship." I raised an eyebrow at her last remark. I had thought that either Blake or Pyrrha had been the ones behind that. Despite her naive love of adventure, I didn't have her pegged for a scheming mastermind.

"Why did you do that, Ruby? I had Team CFVY with me, I would've been fine." I tried to speak gently as possible, de-emphasizing any possible blame.

"I don't know. It's just... after you told us about your mission, I just felt this growing feeling in my gut that you might not come back from it." She took a moment to look away from me, staring off into space. "I was just so terrified that you would leave and never come back again, just like my..."

She trailed off, her eyes blank, lost in a memory as a tear fell from her eye. Ruby shook her head with her eyes squeezed shut before turning back to me.

"So I went to Blake and Pyrrha and convinced them that you needed us on this mission. Then we came up with the plan to pose as your pilots while I hid in the bags."

Her voice went quiet, her eyes turning downcast and her body trembled subtly. She looked so genuinely frightened, I couldn't help but reach around her shoulders and pull her into an awkward one-armed hug. She glanced up at me, surprised.

"Thank you, Ruby. The man you saw, the one in golden armour? He is an extremely dangerous person. I don't blame you for being afraid I might not come back." I blinked as another thought came to me.

"Speaking of which, what happened to Team CFVY?" I asked fearing the worst.

"Oh, according to Pyrrha, they managed to defeat all the other Grimm and found us not long after you passed out." She replied sounding much less distressed.

I breathed out a sigh of relief before wondering how a team of 4 students managed to wipe out hundreds of Grimm. We definitely needed mandatory practices if we wanted to catch up to their level.

Grasping Ruby's hand, I spoke softly. "Ruby, don't let this mission keep you down. Learn from your mistakes and don't repeat them. You did well."

Her eyes widened in surprise and happiness. She bent over and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Thank you, Shirou! I won't let you down ever again!"

I grunted in pain as she squeezed my chest. Tapping her on the back, I managed to choke out a fee pained words.

"Ruby! Ruby! My injuries!" She instantly pulled back a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry Shirou. Okay, I won't let you down ever again... starting now." She grinned as she finished her proclamation.

"I know you won't. Now get some rest. You look tired." I chuckled a bit as I said this.

She gave me an enthusiastic salute and a 'yes captain' before turning and leaving the room.

Oh shoot I forgot to ask how long I had been here for. Not to mention where the others were. With a sigh I resigned myself to waiting for my next visitor. Maybe I should sleep instead, I was still feeling a bit tired.

As I thought this, my eyelids closed and I drifted off to sleep.

o-o

_I walked through the palace eyeing the delicate golden statues. The gods, their forms were captured in utter beauty, cast in golden metal. Alas, even the intricately carved statues paled in comparison to the actual deities. No human could hope to even glimpse them, let alone capture their essence._

_I walked barefoot along the cool smooth stone floors. Colourful patterns danced along the tiles, creating mosaic shapes and images. Stepping through a tall marble archway, out onto a hot balcony, I observed the people below me. _

_Where they once waved, now they scurried like rats as they met my gaze. No matter how weak and loathsome humans were, I couldn't help but admire their ability to create._

_From the beautiful palace I stood in to the massive stone city before me, humans had built them, brick by brick. That didn't even take into account the many other wonderful things they made. Extremely fine wines, intricate contraptions with all sorts of useful abilities, and even majestic weapons, I coveted them all. _

_I wanted them. No, I needed them, to collect these amazing objects, both beautiful and powerful. I would add them to my collection. _

_They would become my treasures._

o-o

_My body is made of swords,_

_My blood of fire, my heart of glass._

_I have survived countless battles,_

_Not even once retreating,_

_Not even once victorious._

_No longer alone,_

_Forging iron on a hill of infinite swords._

_Thus, for the sake of others,_

_My whole life was, the Unlimited Blade Works_

_-Shirou Emiya_

AN: Hey I'm back already! Remember the last two times I said I wouldn't update and then I did? Me neither. Who knew procrastination was so much fun.

So finally some fight scenes and stuffs. I write most of the story minus the author notes and UBW variation on my phone in the notes app so, they always look longer to me than they actually are. Incidentally typing on the phone creates typos and mistakes left and right so if you see one, please let me know. I do try to read through it, but it does take a while to read through 9000 words over and over again.

On that note I'd be really grateful if you guys could review with constructive criticisms or just in general. I do read through all of them and I try to take into account what you say as I write the next chapter. With that, I hope this chapter flowed a bit better than the last one. One of you mentioned the scenes felt too disconnected, and after reading through it on my computer, I'd be inclined to agree.

For those of you wondering why Gilgamesh is controlling Grimm, there is a reason which I'll get to in later chapters. In terms of character development, I seem to be pretty bad at it, since most of the development comes in the form of crying girls. I do plan to give Pyrrha a bit more screen time in the next chapter (hopefully without many tears, it's not really in her personality anyway). As for Ruby, it wasn't much but…. check out _Red like Roses II_, the song. It's one of my favourites from the first soundtrack.

Since I have a really bad track record with estimating chapter release dates, I'm just gonna say nothing.

"Nothing."

Edit: After reading some reviews, I'd like to say that there will be no harem. (meaning only one girl ends up with Shirou. But that's not to say multiple girls won't like him too, after all he's Shirou! He got big boobs, medium boobs and small boobs to like him in Fuyuki.)

Thanks for reading! (and all the faves, follows and reviews if you did one or some of these)

_Madgamer2k7 out._


	4. Chapter Four: A Tale of Two Souls

Chapter Four – A Tale of Two Souls

I woke up to a pleasant scent in the room. It smelled faintly sweet with an indescribable feel that made my heart pump just a little bit harder. Keeping my eyes closed, I enjoyed the gentle and relaxing feeling that washed through my sedentary body. Something soft brushed my left arm, tickling it, and I suppressed the urge to scratch it. I could feel the heat off of the person's face as it neared my own, their warm breath caressing my cheek.

I felt a warm hand rest gently onto my arm, thin fingers tenderly touching my skin.

"Shirou." It was just a whisper, but it was all I needed to hear.

The door opened suddenly and the hand retracted quickly. I continued feigning sleep as another person quietly entered the room.

"Did you check? Is Shirou awa-" The speaker paused as she took in the other's hidden expression. "Blake what's wrong? Your face is all red. Do you need to see the nurse?"

Through cracked eyelids, I watched with interest at the interaction before me. The black-bow-wearing girl pointedly ignored Pyrrha's questions, instead choosing to intently study the wallpaper patterns. With a shrug, the Spartan girl stepped past Blake to my bed side. Watching her approach through my eyelids, I tried to remain still, unsure of what to do.

She touched my shoulder tenderly, before quickly glancing over her shoulder at Blake who had switched her attention to a bland painting on the wall. With a blush, Pyrrha's hand reached for mine, her soft skin connecting with mine for a brief moment.

The door slammed open with a loud bang, startling everyone in the room, Pyrrha's hand shooting from mine and behind her back. Blake jolted as she jumped in her boots. Coco strolled in, ignoring the other two girls in the room.

"C-Coco! Shirou's sleeping." She whispered in a hushed voice.

"Not anymore he isn't. How ya doing, rookie? That Ursa really messed you up." The tall leader planted a boot on the side of my bed, staring down at me with her sunglasses lowered. With a sigh I opened my eyes and looked at her knowing smirk.

"You should've seen the other guy." I returned her smirk with a small grin of my own. "How are you, by the way?"

"Well, considering I just finished getting chewed out by Goodwitch for almost letting you die, and for letting three newbies sneak into the mission, then almost letting said newbies die too." She put her hand on her hip, amusement clearly present on her face. "To answer your question, I'm freaking fantastic. Oh by the way, Ozpin wants to speak to you as soon as you can leave the infirmary."

With a flip of her hair, the confident girl spun around and began to walk away, waving over her shoulder.

"Get well soon, rookie. And don't go breaking too many hearts." She called out without looking and walked out of the room as suddenly as she entered it. "Oh hey, Red."

Ruby came into the room immediately after Coco left, looking a little confused. For heaven's sake, was my hospital bed some kind of group hangout location?

Well since they were here already, we might as well just start doing a recap of the mission. Sitting up in my bed with little effort, I turned to face them.

"Good morning, Pyrrha, Blake, and Ruby, status report. How are your injuries?" They glanced around at each other, before Pyrrha finally stepped forward.

"My shield arm's shoulder was dislocated. When they got us onto the evacuation ship, one of the crew fixed it right away. The nurse here in the infirmary put my arm in a sling told me to avoid any strenuous activity for a little while. As such, I was excused from combat classes for a week." I only just noticed the white sling her left arm was suspended in. Pyrrha bowed her head and stepped back as Blake stepped forward.

"That nasty bear gave me a minor fracture in one of my ribs. I also have massive bruises across my chest and back. I've was told to avoid combat and intense activities for a week while it heals. They also gave me some special... medicine for the pain." She simply nodded her head before joining Pyrrha. Ruby stepped forward with a slight pout while poking her index fingers together.

"Igotabumponmyhead." I blinked. I didn't quite get that. With a raised brow, I asked her to repeat herself, but with more enunciation and clarity.

"I got a bump on my head." I gave her a confused look. Her injury had seemed so much more severe at first glance. I shuddered at the memory of the dark red pool behind her head.

"All that blood came from a big cut on the back of my head. The doctor also said I had a concussion, but the effects wore off by the time I came to see you last night. Now I just have this big bump on the back of my head. It looks ridiculous, and Yang won't stop teasing me!" She stamped her foot before resuming her pouting.

I breathed a sigh of relief, falling back against my pillow. At least there weren't any lasting injuries. I couldn't live with myself if any of them received crippling injuries. A cough rang out from the line of girls as Pyrrha cleared her throat.

"Shirou, you haven't told us how you're feeling. Your wound was by far the worst out of all of ours." She spoke with a worried inflection. The other two nodded in agreement, casting concerned glances in my direction.

How did I feel? Well, my shoulder... It felt fine. In fact, my entire body felt great.

With a confused look, I hopped out of bed to the shocked surprise of the others. Walking to the closest, I pulled on a pair of my jeans under the hospital gown, before pulling off the hospital attire.

Smooth bandages were wrapped around my torso. Ignoring the blushing glances in my direction, I pulled off the tight cloth from around my chest and shoulder to reveal smooth unblemished skin. My eyes widened as I traced the unbroken skin with shaking fingertips. This was impossible. Just one day ago, there had been a massive cleft of broken flesh and bone. Even with a healing ability, this was insane. My mind flashed back to that night in the forest. I had brushed it off then, but shrugging off paralysis was actually no small thing, my nerves had been fried through and through after all. The last time I had regeneration like this was before that scheming witch took Saber from me.

An image formed in my mind. A swirling, teeming mass of blades, sprouting from a jagged wound. They extended and overlapped each other with a distinct scraping sound, pulling each section closer together. My lips moved in motion with my mind as the words came to me.

"My body is made of swords."

It was just a whisper, but in the words held a great, familiar power. Massive gears churned inside my very being. My eyes closed as I reveled in the feeling, the... completeness.

I opened my eyes to look back at the girls who all gazed wide-eyed and dumbfounded at my healthy torso. Pyrrha's face matched her hair as she stood stock still, openly staring, while Blake blinked and looked away with red-tinged cheeks. Ruby on the other hand, stepped forward and pressed her hand onto my chest. Her eyes observed in amazement the smoothness of the skin, the total lack of scarring.

"Shirou, not even Aura can heal that quickly and efficiently. Does this have to do with you being a magic knight hero?" Ruby spoke in an awed tone, never once glancing up at my face, her attention fixed onto my former site of injury.

"Well first off I don't know True Magic, only Magecraft. Secondly, I'm not a knight, my friend is. And thirdly, I merely wish to become a hero; I don't think I've quite attained that level yet." I sighed in exasperation as she began poking me like I was some alien organism.

"But Shirou, you saved my life. You _are _ahero, my hero." Her innocent eyes sparkled with gratitude as she finally looked up at my face, which now began to turn red with embarrassment. Quickly stepping back from her, I finally answered her earlier question.

"In all honesty, I believe my healing does have something to do with the field of Magecraft, but I'm not entirely sure how." I frowned in thought as I continued wondering just where it came from. Not even the healing used by other Heroic Spirits were nearly as powerful, so it didn't make sense that I would suddenly obtain it for no reason.

"Sh-Shirou, perhaps it would be b-better to put on a shirt. It would be terrible if you caught a cold." Pyrrha's eyes were now focused on the ground, one of her feet pressing down into the ground, rotating weakly, digging a shallow imaginary hole into the hospital floor.

Ha! What an idea. I'd never once gotten sick before. Fuji-nee had always attributed that to my habit of helping out random strangers for no apparent reason. Although, it was worrying that Sakura had agreed with her on this issue. They didn't think I was that big of a fool, right? Nonetheless, I walked to the closet and took out the clean shirt. Pulling it over my head, I vaguely wondered who had gathered my clothing and put it here. Perhaps it was one of my teammates, or one of the hospital staff.

Stretching out my arms, I turned back to my team to be met with warm smiles. After that heart-shattering hollow victory against the Ursa, our team was finally back together, one big happy family.

-o-

"You wanted to see me?" I stepped into the spacious office. Books were stacked in leaning piles all around the messy desk. Papers were strewn about the table's surface, a large splotch of orange-brown, indicating that some may have spilled their coffee all over it. It seemed our headmaster had been busy.

"Yes, please close the door and sit down." The grey-haired man gestured towards the chair in front of his desk, before continuing. "The leader of Team CFVY has already informed me of the events her team witnessed. Your teammates have also provided their own stories. However, the one story I haven't heard, and quite frankly the one I want to hear most, is your story. Tell me Shirou, what did you find out?"

"I believe he is working with a man named Adam Taurus, who appears to be related to the White Fang terrorist group. He also seems to have special powers related to Grimm. He was able to make an Ursa double its size and grow stronger, all from a touch of his hand." I summarized my encounter with the King of Heroes.

"Yes, yes. I've already heard about these from the other members of your mission. What I want to know is what you think he is up to. Out of all of us, you likely have the best insight into his motivations." Ozpin looked weary and just a tad bit impatient, a stark contrast to his normally immaculate appearance.

I scratched my head, bit down on my lip, trying to think of a suitable response. In all honesty, I really had no clue about Gilgamesh's plan. The one thing that stood out to me was that he was willing to defer killing me just to get to somewhere. His arrogance normally wouldn't let his prey get away without getting a taste of his blades first. He obviously had some overarching plan that involved the White Fang. Based off of his interaction with Taurus, it seemed he either considered them to be useful enough to tolerate and work with, or more frighteningly, just another one of their pawns like he was to Kotomine.

"There definitely is a larger operation going on. He passed on killing me and Blake when he had the chance, choosing instead to head elsewhere. They were planning on using the outpost as a base for something related to the White Fang. As far as I could tell, Gilgamesh seems like he's working with someone in the background, perhaps even working for them instead. I'm afraid he may be aiding someone in building an army, comprised of the White Fang and Grimm."

I watched as Ozpin seemed to age with each sentence. He closed his eyes with a grimace, resting his chin atop of his propped up hands.

"That is troubling news indeed. Do you know where he was planning on going to?" He gazed tiredly over the rims of his glasses at me.

"I'm sorry, he didn't mention where. All I know is that it is connected to the White Fang somehow." I shrugged. The headmaster looked thoughtful for a moment, before standing up and pacing his office, muttering to himself. Stopping, he turned to me.

"I'll keep you updated in regards to news on this Gilgamesh. I wouldn't put up much hope on that though. He seems to be infuriatingly elusive. On the other hand, if you can keep an eye out for White Fang activity, I'd be immensely grateful." Ozpin walked over to his desk, pulling open a drawer.

"On a different note, I have something that may prove useful for you." He held a small device in his hand. It was a sleek metal rectangular tube that easily fit within his palm. There was a small slit around the end that popped open to reveal a white glowing crystal inside.

"This was given to me courtesy of an old friend of mine. It's an old prototype for one of his current secret projects involving artificial Auras. This should give you a chance to participate in events and activities involving Auras, including combat classes and the upcoming tournament. It works by generating a weak self-sustaining Aura around you as long as you have it in your possession and keep it activated. This way, your Scroll will actually register an Aura for you and help keep your secret... well, secret. Just try to avoid taking too many hits. This was made as a test for whether artificial Aura was possible, not direct combat." He handed me the silver device. I curiously observed it in my hand, playing with it. It was fairly lightweight, and I tossed it in the air and caught it.

"I can see that you don't seemed all that troubled by your wound." Ozpin's voice broke the silence that had settled. Surprised, I nearly dropped my Aura device.

"I won't ask. But seeing as you appear to be fine, physically, how about you test out that prototype during combat training this week. It would be a good opportunity to properly fight someone who actually possesses an Aura." He gave me a weary smile as he sat back down onto his chair. "I believe that is all. Have a good evening, Shirou."

Bowing my head in thanks and in farewell, I stepped out of his office, studying the little object in my hand. There was a finger sized loop on the other end of the sleek device. Perhaps I could attach a necklace or something. A certain small gold chain came to mind.

-o-

"Waaaaaah! My baby!" A high pitched whine filled the room.

I looked up from my book on Grimm species to see Ruby hugging the shattered halves of Crescent Rose. The other two had gone to the infirmary for their final checkups, leaving me and the hooded girl in our dorm for the next couple hours. Those nurses were extremely fussy.

The girl had been busily trying to mend the weapon over the week, but the way the weapon was damaged made repairs difficult. That was the problem with these complex weapons, difficult to clean and difficult to fix. That's why I stuck with my beloved swords. Sleek, simple and dead effective. It definitely wasn't because I wasn't sure how guns worked. Definitely not.

Putting my book down, I ambled over to the flustered teenager. I never could resist aiding someone in need. She frowned at the frayed edges, a set of tools laid out next to her. Sitting down next to her, I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Ruby, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with Crescent Rose." I spoke with a gentle voice.

"It's just that I built Crescent Rose. I should be able to fix her, but I can't seem figure how what's wrong with the firing mechanism. On top of that, I need to mend the shaft, but the materials I could find aren't strong enough." She pouted at her damaged weapon.

Maybe I could help with that. It seemed the shaft just needed a little Reinforcement while I could try to figure how the shooting mechanism. I didn't need to understand it to make it work again. Motioning for the red-haired girl to pass me the parts of her scythe, I closed my eyes in concentration.

"Trace on"

A structural grid appeared in my mind. Circuits ran down the shaft, outlining the shape. Inside the gun's barrel, splintered metal was jammed and meshed together, effectively sealing itself off. Further down, the bolt action tube was crumpled and jammed, a bullet casing lodged in the twisted metal. It was an absolute mess. Knowledge of the firing mechanism filled my mind as I continued to Structurally Analyze it.

Somewhere inside of me, I felt something click. The entire process and history of Crescent Rose's firing mechanism flowed through me as if she had been with me all of my life. I opened my eyes with a short gasp. Ruby looked over with a curious expression. With a gentle smile, I glanced down at the damaged weapon. I could fix Crescent Rose.

Energy hummed in my circuits. It filled and flowed through my spiritual channels like a river after a storm. Prana passed from my fingertips to the warm metal held between them. Creaks sounded from the weapon as I soothed the twisted metal.

In my mind, I stood at a forge, surrounded by pools of molten metal on a hill of swords. With a pair of tongs, I grasped glowing sheet metal. At an anvil, I hammered the searing metal into a rounded mold, returning the steel to the fire periodically. The barrel began to take shape as the bolt tube materialized, slotted inside the glowing gun barrel. It smoothed itself inside out as pieces of metal burst forth from the pools of white flowing steel. Glob after glob of viscous flaming liquid attached itself around the assembled gun barrel. Walking over to the furnace, I placed my bare hand inside. Neither the flames nor the heat could hurt me. After all, _my blood was fire_.

I pulled out a series of blades, each one attaching to the molten frame. With a wave of my hand, the globular mass of liquid metal exploded, sending droplets of burning steel flying in every direction. In its place, a glowing red scythe hung in the air with a blaze of glory.

"Shirou!"

Why were my moments of peace always interrupted by someone calling my name?

I cracked open an eye to see Pyrrha open her mouth to call my name again. It seems they came back from the infirmary earlier than expected. Blake came into view from behind her, a disapproving frown on her face.

"How is it that every time we leave you alone, you somehow get yourself into trouble?" Her eyebrow was raised, and she tapped her foot while giving me annoyed look, similar to that of a parent coming home to find their child had painted the walls again.

What was she talking about? There was no trouble. I turned to Ruby for support, but she had moved over to the other girls with a frightened expression. What on earth was going on?

"What are you talking about?" I was starting to get a little frustrated.

"You're probably the only person I know that can somehow manage to set himself on fire, not even notice that, and then proceed to come out completely fine." The cat-eared girl walked over to her bed and lay down, cracking open one of her books.

Fire? I looked down myself. In my hands was a pristine and repaired Crescent Rose. The same could not be said for my clothes. My sleeves and jeans were scorched, leaving massive burnt holes in the knees of my jeans, and singed sleeves now ending at my elbows. Woops.

Standing up, I handed the collapsed scythe to Ruby, who gratefully smiled at me, before hugging her beloved weapon. I ambled past the speechless Pyrrha, one hand on the hem of my jeans, keeping the tattered cloth from dropping to my ankles. Grabbing a clean set of clothes, I awkwardly made my way to the washrooms.

Damn it, that was my favourite shirt too.

-o-

The moon hung like a lantern in the sky, its ethereal glow illuminating the treetops, casting scattered beams of light through cracks in the canopy. It reminded me of some of the fairy tales Kiritsugu had read to me when I had been plagued with nightmares. The night felt peaceful as I blithely strolled through the forest. Days had passed since I fixed Crescent Rose, and it seemed life had returned to normal for the most part. Classes dragged on, and lunchtime was often spent with Team WYNR in the cafeteria. Everything settled back into the old daily routines. But despite peaceful nature of these halcyon days, I couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. Something was happening out there, and I couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

I reached the familiar clearing in the trees, the grass rustling faintly with the cool evening breeze. Good, my Bounded Field was still up. It was unlikely people would randomly show up, but it would be useful for detecting Grimm. With a cursory glance at the surrounding foliage, I assumed a cross-legged position in the center of the clearing. There was something I needed to investigate.

"My body is made of swords"

My circuits sparked to life, humming with Prana. Inside of me, I felt hundreds upon thousands of blades quiver, sheathed in the rusty earth of my soul. Almost like a million silent voices, they cried out at me, without a sound, but I could hear them all the same. The connection was there, but it was faint. Too faint.

"My blood of fire"

As if responding to my words, my blood heated up as an inferno lit my veins. A sense of life sprang into being as I tamed the swirling energy within my body. Weapons given form, now possessed a likeness of their own. Dull steel shined with a vivacious sheen as light danced off of the blades. I closed my eyes. There was still something missing. With fire came chaos, it clouded my mind with flare and smoke.

"My heart of glass"

All at once, my mind cleared. Harmony, balance, it settled through my soul, the swords pacified. The rattling shifted to steady rhythmic swaying, connected to each deep breath I took. My soul was clear. A heart of glass, so easily read, emotions on display for all to see. Yet so fragile, every loss hammering in a web of cracks, it would have been better off if it were made of steel. With a deep sigh, one of intense, yet relaxed concentration, I peered through my transparent heart at the rusted steel world within.

o-o

"Hello Shirou."

Saber's voice sounded in my mind. It was difficult to hear, not because of volume, but its very existence seemed to come and go from my mind in pulses. I tried to visualize the gargantuan gears in the sky, which faintly flashed in my mind from time to time. It was a strange experience, as if I was in two planes of existence at the same time, and two were fighting for control. However, the blades themselves easily materialized in my mind, eager to be drawn, like sharp, dangerous, steel puppies with razor edged tails whipping back and forth.

"We were interrupted last time, and I'm afraid we will be interrupted again."

The blonde knight's deep feminine voice reverberated in my mind. I grasped onto the voice and focused, keeping the connection strong.

"Yeah, you were trying to say something important that I couldn't quite make out."

I directed my mental message through the link, hoping she would hear me. A sense of amusement pulsed through the connection, and I could almost picture Saber smiling at me.

"Yes, I was trying to tell you that your healing was not because of the Grail."

Well, I hadn't been expecting that. So far I had just chalked up all of my changes to the Grail. Where did she think it came from? Sending her a silent confirmation, I waited for her to continue.

"Ever since I arrived here, I felt drawn to something. I searched through your endless hills of blades, yet I couldn't find a trace of what that was. It was as if what I was seeking was both present and absent in here at the same time. When I reached out towards your body, I found it, my beloved sheath."

She paused, feelings of happiness and bitterness overlapping as she hugged her chest tightly.

"Avalon, my ever-distant utopia. It was in you all along, healing you, keeping you safe."

Avalon? The legendary sheath to Excalibur? How did that end up inside of me? I'm pretty sure I would've remembered something like that. In fact the last time I couldn't remember anything... was back in the Fuyuki City Fire. When my father saved my life.

He said he was a magus didn't he? I always assumed he used some kind of healing Magecraft to save me, but in hindsight, I never saw him use any in all the time we spent together. But that didn't explain how he would have had it in his possession. There were too many questions piling up in my already divided mind. Wait, something didn't add up.

"Saber, then why didn't Avalon heal me during my fight with Archer and Gilgamesh?"

"The sheath's abilities are tied to me Shirou. You only were able to access then when I was your Servant, when we shared the Master-Servant bond. However, since my arrival here, the bond between our souls has strengthened by my presence within your Unlimited Blade Works. The healing power of the sheath is many times stronger than the one you experienced in the Grail War. Strong enough even, to heal most fatal wounds quickly like the one you suffered from the Ursa attack."

So my healing power didn't come from the Grail. What did that say about the rest of my newfound abilities? No, I'd have to go over that later. The connection between my mind and my reality marble was growing more and more unstable by the second, as if I were holding onto two ropes attached to trucks moving away from each other. Saber's wavering voice flitted in and out from my disorientated consciousness.

"When you rediscover more of your aria, we'll be able to meet face to face in your mind. Goodbye Shirou."

And just like that I let go and let the swirling mental torrent take over. My worlds were spinning, each in opposing directions, and I could vaguely feel my back collide with the ground. This actually reminded me a lot of that time Fuji-nee had me drink half a bottle of wine, except my head buzzing twice as strongly. Then suddenly it stopped.

o-o

The cool air washed over my sweat-covered face, sending a chill through my supine body. Lazily opening one eye, I observed the cracked moon in the sky. It both surprised and confused me the first time I'd seen it, but it seemed to be a completely natural part of this universe I'd joined. When I looked into the subject, I'd found that the cracked moon was supposedly responsible for a large portion of the Dust found in Remnant. The books and information weren't very clear as to the origins of modern Dust, but it seemed that it had been deposited hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of years ago. The prevailing theory was that it came from the moon. Others argued that it had been created by natural processes in the world. Either way, I learned a lot more than I thought I would have when doing a quick search on my Scroll about the moon.

I let my eyes slip shut as the night breeze came by and tickled my face. It was on a night just like this, lying on my back next to my father, the hard wood deck smooth and cold. My dream, my ideal, it started with a dying man's wish. Eyes half-opened, I reach one arm into the sky, fingers splayed as if to pluck the very stars from void beyond.

"If you could see me now, would think I look like a superhero, Dad?"

The fingers closed into a soft fist, clenched within, my hopes, my dreams, my cherished memories. All of them within my palm, a heart of glass indeed.

A soft, but distinct chime rang throughout the air. I sighed, letting my arm drop back to my side. It seemed I had company. Hopefully nothing too powerful, reaching Saber had drained me of a lot of my energy. My best bet if faced with another gigantic creature was to run away flailing my arms, maybe even to make whoop whoop noises to confuse it.

I sniffed the air to get a feel for its magical residue. Rin always complained about just how damn effective my magical sense was. 'Like a bloodhound!' I could imagine her scowling as she muttered enviously.

A faint smell of metal met me. That was strange. Grimm mostly smelled of negativity, involving death, hatred and animosity. Moreover, I couldn't help but get a distinct feel of red associated with it. At first I hadn't noticed it when checking, as if it had somehow been blocked or desensitized. The sounds of footsteps in the grass approached my head from above. I peered up to see a pair of familiar green orbs peering back, mirth dancing between the vibrant eyes.

"What, Oh fearless leader, are you doing out here at night?" Her hand was on her hip, her eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I'm just enjoying the stars. I couldn't see them that well from my old home," I replied without skipping a beat. Craning my neck, I put both my hands on the back of my head and made myself comfortable. Glancing back up at the Spartan girl, I asked, "So what brings you out here, my dear partner?"

"I was wondering where you headed off to, and Blake was kind enough to escort me here," she replied, taking a seat next to me as she spoke. Her head tilted back, her long crimson hair brushed and settling onto the grass, eyes lifted upwards towards the ocean of dim twinkling light.

"Blake is here?" I blinked as I processed what my companion said.

"No, she left as soon as we saw you," Pyrrha shook her head before continuing, "no doubt to go read that ninja book she's always trying to hide."

I said nothing, leaving a zephyr rustle the grass and leaves to break the silence. The sounds of two breaths synced in harmony over the gentle hum of the wind created a sense of peacefulness, as if everything in the world was alright. Pyrrha was the first to break our vocal silence.

"Your home. I've never heard you really talk about it before. I figured there was a reason, so I never asked, but I'll admit that I'm curious." Her voice was gentle like the wind, daring not to pry, but teetering about, testing the waters. I let out a small chuckle.

"There's not much to say. It was pretty similar to what I've seen of Vale. Tall buildings in the downtown area, small neighbourhoods scattered throughout the city. There was even a big river running through its center." My head was flowing with memories of Fuyuki City, from the downtown Shinto area to my school and then to the Emiya compound. Then my mind wandered to the tainted park, the site of the Great Fire, the conclusion to the Fourth Holy Grail War, my birthplace. My lips drew closed as putrid flames brushed my mind.

"Oh that sounds nice. I'm sure you have many fond memories of it." Her voice grew quiet, her eyes glazing over, lost in imagination, or perhaps a memory of her own. I rolled my head to the side, looking at her. Pyrrha wore a mixed expression on her face, traces happiness and sadness, but hidden beneath it all, I saw loneliness. Strange that such a prominent and well-mannered person would be afflicted with such a common ailment. Then again, it really wasn't that strange, was it. Licking my lips, I opened my mouth again to ask her.

"What about your home? What was it like?" I asked calmly with hints of interest laced into the words. She remained silent for a moment, pondering, wondering what to say. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, gripped with indecision. The pale moonlight reflected off her pearly teeth each time she tried and failed to speak. She took a deep breath and finally spoke.

"I grew up in Mistral. Even from a young age, it was apparent to others that I held a... natural talent for combat. So, from the moment I could walk, I was taught to run, to jump, to fight. Not a day has passed since then that I haven't held a blade in my hand." Pyrrha's outstretched arm mimicked grasping a weapon's handle.

"But that was okay. I enjoyed the attention and praise I received. Because of that, I gained many friends and even fans. Naturally, I began to push myself even harder to get better and stronger. Not too long after my 13th birthday, my parents decided that I was capable enough to enter a small tournament. It didn't matter that everyone else there was much older and more experienced than me. I had to do this for myself, to prove that all my training hadn't been for naught." She suddenly sat up twisting to look back down at me, her eyes lit with a spirited fire. Flipping her long ponytail, the redhead gazed off into the distance, leaning back on two propped arms.

"I remember my first official fight like it was just yesterday. My opponent was a 3rd year student from Haven. He was much taller than me at the time and had a really confident smirk on his face. His weapon was a pair of dagger-like blades attached by a long chain to each other. I was nervous. At the time I was still designing Miló, so I was restricted to the sword form. On top of that, I was still trying to discover my Semblance at the time." She smiled and tilted her head to the side, eyes closed.

Her eyes abruptly shot open and settled into a narrowed stare. My partner licked her licks before continuing.

"He made the first move. He flicked his wrist at me, and the next thing I knew, I had somehow raised Akoúō to deflect the dagger. I charged forward, shield in front, when I heard a gunshot from behind me. Spinning around, I managed to successfully deflect his blade again. He had pistols built into the daggers so that they could change direction mid-flight, which he also used in tandem with the chain. We continued fighting, him putting me on the defensive for the majority of the time. In all honesty, I probably could have beaten him fairly quickly, but my nervousness and anxiety caused me to make mistake after mistake. He was able to entangle Miló with the chain and I was forced to dodge his swipes and stabs lest I lose my weapon.

On a gamble I tried to hit him with edge of my shield, but that left me open for a counterattack on his part. Throughout the match, neither of us had yet to actually land a damage dealing blow. With the time winding down, even a scratch in our Aura bar would have meant defeat. He was faster than me with his dagger. I'd made a mistake, and he knew it too. He was taller than me, his reach much longer than mine. Even with the reduced range of his dagger, he could easily reach my side, while I struggled to bring my shield up to his head." Pyrrha breathed out deeply, shaking her head.

"I remember thinking, 'I can't lose like this. Not my first match!' I knew it wouldn't change anything, but I willed with all my might that he would somehow miss his dagger strike. It was as if my prayer had been answered. His dagger seemed to glide past my side as if repelled by my very body. He fell off balance, and was too surprised to properly dodge. I clocked him in the side of his jaw with Akoúō, knocking him out and securing victory. I remember turning around to look at the crowd cheer me on. When I finally managed to spot my friends, the only thing I saw on their faces was awe." She smiled triumphantly as she recounted her victory, but the smile faded almost imperceptibly when she mentioned her friends.

"It was enough to renew my spirit and boost my confidence. I eventually won the tournament without getting directly hit even once. It was a smaller tournament, and many of the competitors were also first-timers, so it wasn't particularly difficult after the first match. After that, my friends were in constant awe, and many others heaped praise. I relished in it at the time, and continued putting even more effort into my training." Her smile turned bittersweet as she stared down softly at the grass.

"Eventually after winning more and more tournaments, the praise from my friends started feeling less heartwarming and more sarcastic. There were whispers that I was looking down upon them, that I'd rather spend time training than hang out with any of them. One by one, my circle of friends diminished until I was left standing in an empty circle wondering where everyone went. Other people, fans, they didn't seem to have the same negative opinions about me as my former friends, but at the same time, were either too in awe or scared to approach. Without anyone but my parents who truly knew me, I threw myself back into training and competitions with extra vigor. It was all I knew, and I had no idea what else to do, so I decided that I would fight for myself. But years passed by, and I couldn't help but feel a bit lonely, so I decided to come to Vale, to Beacon instead of Haven for school. Maybe there would be less people who would recognize me, maybe I could just be a normal girl again..." Her voice grew quiet as she trailed off. Moist eyes blinked a few times before looking into mine. I had been silent for quite some time, listening to my partner tell me her life's story.

She bit her lip and stared defiantly at me, refusing to let a single tear out. Heh, that was just like her, to put on such a tough exterior, trying to hide her inner turmoil. So be it. It wasn't like Pyrrha to be anything but strong, and she knew that. I could sense the unasked question and a smirk formed on my lips.

"This won't change how I see you, Pyrrha." Her head perked up as I said this.

"I mean, the past is the past. There's no sense living in it without moving on. Don't worry, none of us will ever abandon you, I swear on my soul." Her eyes widened, before a warm smile returned to her face. She scooched over to my side as I sat up, and gave me a tight hug. She whispered in my ear.

"Thank you, Shirou." As she returned to her normal seated position, our talk returned to mundane subjects like class and rumours like the one about Ozpin drinking bourbon instead of coffee. However, before long, our conversation turned back onto combat. Inevitably, the question finally came up.

"Shirou, I've been meaning to ask, where did you learn to fight? I know you've mentioned your homeland before, but I've never heard of it, nor is it in any books and articles I've read. I'm actually more interested in your fighting style. It seems so difficult and you're able to pull it off for the most part, but then you also make all these beginner mistakes such as overextending on your swings, having some unsteady footwork, and missing certain openings and weaknesses in your opponent's defense. Your hands, while rough don't have many callouses and especially not in the right places if you've been training for years. Yet at the same time, I've seen you pull off maneuvers and attacks that even fully qualified Huntsmen would have difficulty executing. There's just so many inconsistencies, I'm not sure what to think. I'm hoping you can explain why or how, but it's perfectly alright if you don't want to."

It had been weighing on me for quite some time now. I could tell them of my origins like with Ozpin. Sooner or later it was going to come out, but I'd rather if I was the source. That way I could control what was said and heard. Then again, Pyrrha wasn't asking about that. My fighting style? I could explain it away as part of my Magecraft, and though it was technically partially true, I couldn't bring myself to lie anymore to these girls. Over the last couple months, they'd grown into yet another family for me, people I could trust and count on. At the same time, I couldn't exactly explain that I had absorbed my skills, knowledge and power from a future version of myself while Future-Me was trying to kill Present-Me. I'd sound like a crazy person. Not to mention, in order to explain that, I'd need to reveal the existence of the Holy Grail War. My hesitance to tell them stemmed from a combination of old habits ingrained in me by Kiritsugu, and I didn't want to scare them. People often grew uncomfortable whenever I described the events of the Great Fuyuki Fire, like with Weiss, so I tried to avoid telling people about it. The Fifth Holy Grail War was of a similar vein, in that I wasn't sure how people would react. In all honesty, I didn't really feel horrified inside of me whenever I recounted grisly events. In fact, thinking about it tended to give me the feeling of wanting to help someone. Rin had been quick to point out that there was something wrong with my thinking, though she may have been referring more to my overzealous habit of helping random people without question.

Maybe. Maybe I could tell Pyrrha to gauge her reaction. It would certainly take a load off of my chest, and we could decide to tell the others at a later point, like with Blake, except that we had kept her Faunus status secret. Steeling my nerves I turned to answer her.

"Pyrrha, what I'm going to say, it may not make sense, but I promise I won't lie to you. It involves details that other may find terrible and gruesome. Are you sure you want to listen?" I carefully watched her expression, waiting for her reaction.

"Shirou, there's nothing you could say that would make me turn away." She reassured me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Well, I did warn her.

"My skills, they were absorbed into me when I fought against another warrior. Wait, don't be too alarmed, he was connected to me a special way. You see, he was a future version of me." I spoke slowly and carefully, eyeing her face as I spoke. She looked a bit confused, opening her mouth, before closing it and gesturing me to go on.

I gave her a brief, edited and shortened explanation of the Holy Grail War. A frown appeared on her face when I mentioned how killing was involved. Finally, I returned to the topic of Emiya, the Counter Guardian.

"He was a future version of me. Like me he wanted to become a hero, to save everyone. He even made a contract with the world in order to save some people, but the very people he saved also condemned him to death. He never blamed them though. However, as part of the contract, he was continually summoned time and time again to defend mankind, to eliminate the problem, before returning back to the Throne of Heroes, awaiting the world's command. Unfortunately, mankind's greatest enemy tended to be mankind itself, and he was forced to slaughter thousands, growing jaded and cynical, eventually betraying our ideals." I clenched my fist as I lived through Archer's memories. I wouldn't become like him.

"So, he sought to kill me in the present time, hoping that it would create a paradox in the universe that would end up erasing our existence and freeing him of his tortuous servitude. What both of us didn't realize was that because of the world recognizing us as existing as the same person while also two separate people, whenever, we made contact, his knowledge, his skills and powers kept getting transferred into me. It wasn't until I realized his identity that I received it all. Even now with his perfected fighting style, I can only imitate a shadow of its glory. My body just wasn't capable of matching up to a Servant's. In truth, I'd only really ever experienced combat for a little under a week before I met you, a couple months ago." I breathed in deeply, recovering from my endless rambling and explanations. I didn't miss the look of utter surprise etched across her face at my last remark. The silence was deafening, interrupted only by a rustle in a tree nearby.

"Shirou, you mean to tell me that you've only been fighting for two months?" Her incredulous voice grew increasingly louder as she spoke. Right, of all the things I just explained, _that_ was the most unbelievable thing she heard. I nodded my head in affirmation.

"Well that certainly explains the lack of experience you sometimes show, but I've never heard of anyone becoming that good in the span of a _week_! Gosh, even I never improved that quickly." Pyrrha continued to gush at the recent revelation. I felt it was probably appropriate to remind her of a couple details, before she got any crazy ideas.

"Pyrrha, slow down. I only improved so quickly because I received the abilities from the future version of me. That man spent his entire life and then some to perfecting his art. Even if what I do now pales in comparison, don't forget that those skills were directly absorbed into my very soul." I hastily explained as I could see her expression grow thoughtful in a bad way, a way that seemed to imply some kind of hellish training.

"So you're saying that you have the perfect template of your style, but you yourself need to adapt your body and skills to refine it?" She asked, lifting a brow. Well, that was it exactly, more or less.

"Yes?" My voice squeaked a bit at the end. Somehow I felt this wasn't going to end well for me.

"Well, in that case, Shirou, I think we should train here at night. In fact, I want to spar right now." The talk girl stood up, brushing grass and dust off of herself, before extending a hand down to me. There was no escaping this, was there?

She pulled me to my feet, but had to steady the both of us as the wind suddenly sent a powerful gust past us. I could swear I saw a single rose petal getting sucked along. It must've been my imagination. There weren't any rose bushes nearby for hundreds of meters.

"Tell me, why do you choose to fight? You hardly seem the type of person to wish harm onto others." Pyrrha's voice was even, neither accusing nor disapproving, simply curious. She was right. I never wanted to learn how to fight for the sake of battle, but I chose to do this. Why?

"My only goal is to save as many people as I can. While I know it's impossible to save everyone, I'll try anyway. The stronger I am, the more people I can help, so I guess that's the reason I fight and train." As long as I was capable, I would never abandon even a single person. Archer may have brought the harsh reality down upon me, but I would always strive to protect and save as many people as I could.

Pyrrha nodded her head, drawing Miló and Akoúō. Kanshou and Bakuya materialized in my hands in response. I was still running on a tank half full from my earlier activities, but if I rationed my energy out correctly, it wouldn't be a problem. The Spartan girl walked towards the center of the clearing, her hips and sash swaying ever so slightly. Turning, she gazed at me with a serious look in her eyes.

"I've always fought for myself, but you... You've fought solely for the sake of others. I want you to show me why you've become strong. Just what are you fighting for?" With that, she charged at me.

Our blades met in a shower of sparks. Flashes of light illuminated the dark field, echoed with the clash of metal. She spun, swinging her heavy shield, its sharp edge veering towards my face. I leaned back dodging the blow, but was forced to instantly parry her spear as she jabbed in the wake of her first attack. I leapt backwards to collect myself. Her shield attack had been a feint, the true purpose was to block the view of her spear. The heavy shield meant I would have had to block with both swords, leaving me defenseless for her second attack. However I had leaned back instead, exposing my abdomen and pushing it forward. She had the advantage of range. Not only was she taller and her limbs longer, but her spear meant she could attack me from much further away. Thus, while dodging I was put completely on the defensive, my attacks having no hope of reach her lest I throw my swords at her. Taking advantage of her momentum, she had thrust her spear at me pushing me back out of striking range.

Truthfully, the Shirou from the Holy Grail War might have at worst taken a shallow wound, but as of now, I could somehow read her like a book. I recognized all the possible movements and maneuvers she would pull. Hell, it was as if I could see her attack before she even started. That was strange. Archer, while clever and experienced, didn't have this level of foresight outside of his carefully planned strategies. I was hesitant to attribute it to the Grail again. Something Saber had said made me question the exact origins of my abilities.

Pyrrha approached slowly and steadily, shield raised, spear lurking by her side, like a predator stalking its prey. She was waiting for me to make a move. With a cocky grin, I threw both swords in a wide arc at her. She easily ducked under the spinning swords and faced me as I leapt at her. I blinked, she already this how attack worked. Without missing a beat, she jabbed forward to intercept my second set of traced swords. Except, she hit nothing but air. I had dashed to the side, not a sword, but a bow in hand.

Pyrrha's eyes widened, and she braced with her shield. I fired arrow after arrow against the golden shield, each one clanging and numbing her arm. Flicking a switch on Miló, she swung her shield to deflect my last projectile, while wielding and taking aim with her rifle in hand. Her eyes narrowed at the empty landscape, before she rolled to the side, narrowly dodged a set of arrows which tore apart the dirt and grass, leaving tiny craters left and right. Standing with my back to the moon, I replaced the bow with a familiar pair of blades. I let out a laugh and slipped into a stance. Pyrrha frowned at me and took aim with her rifle. Good, stay right there.

In a flurry of torn grass and dust, Reinforced legs propelled me forward, black and white blades deflecting dust rounds. Sounds of scraping metal screamed out into the night, as I crossed the gap in a split second, Prana Bursted blades hammering down onto Miló and Akoúō. Pyrrha grunted as she struggled to block and dodge every strike. A glint in my eye signaled the start of my finisher.

I suddenly stopped my rain of blows, stepping back, catching her off guard as she stumbled forward, the heavy pressure against her suddenly gone. Before she could recover, I swung both swords in wide arcs, catching and locking her spear and shield with each blade. She glared at me, before shifting her weapon into its sword form, pushing and shrugging off Kanshou. As she lunged forward at me, I twisted to the side, forcing her to turn as she attacked.

Thwack! Thwack!

Pyrrha was suddenly jerked sideways onto the ground, lying on her shield as a pair of swords flew through the air and slammed into her side driving the air out of her lungs. Without a wasted movement, she rolled over her shield, back to a standing position, but it was blatantly obvious that she was still short of breath, leaning over slightly. Not letting up, I sprinted at her the moment the first pair of swords had hit her. Like a jaguar finding its prey, I pounced. She managed to repel my first strike, but her strength was notably reduced. Taking advantage of her new openings, I closed in on my target, each hit exposing more and more weaknesses as she struggled to pull her shield and sword up to block and parry my Prana enhanced blows.

It was only for a moment, but Pyrrha's shield arm lifted just a bit too high leaving her left side open to a quick thrust from Bakuya. This would be the deciding blow. Neither of us had much strength left to go on for much longer. As the blade drew closer to her armoured ribcage, I could feel victory within my grasp. Something tickled my nose, a distinctly metallic smell that also somehow reminded me of static. My eyes widened as instead of colliding with her side, my blade slid past her, as if it were repelled by her very body. However, my momentum carried me forward helplessly as I stumbled into my red-haired opponent. My vision darkened as my face plunged between two very soft squishy mounds, before brightening again as I moved to the side, looking up to see Pyrrha sporting a shade of skin matching her hair. With a flip of her long wavy ponytail and a glint of gold, my vision went dark for good this time.

o-o

_I walked along the stone pathway, wind scattering the dust around my feet. The blazing sun threatened to scorch my skin in the arid air, but it eased off as I sent a harsh glare towards the sky. Glancing around, people scurried left and right, daring not to meet their king's eyes. Good. It would not do for the filth to tarnish the area around me. Without a word, I stepped into a massive, looming shadow, towards the only building here that could possibly cast a shadow at noon, the Great Temple of Uruk. _

_It was a wonderfully designed building, colossal stone columns holding up the majestic entrance, a mural of the gods, carved of a single massive slab of stone, truly one of the finest works I had ever seen. Stepping into the expansive hall, I made my way straight to the central altar. Shooing away the groveling mutts, I gazed arrogantly up at the stone figure._

_"Why have you called me here?" I asked the statue, annoyance creeping into my voice._

_At first I was met with only silence. However, moments later the large statue began moving, accompanied by a series of audible cracks. The benevolent face turned downwards at me, quickly etching into one of anger and disapproval._

_"Speak with respect, arrogant king. You are failing in your duty to the gods. Why have you not spread our control over the people yet?" A thunderous deep voice shook the very foundations of the temple with each syllable._

_"It is for the simple fact that the only one I deem worthy of control over these mongrels is a single person, me. You gods are relics of a lost age. Be gone, I have more important matters to deal with than a ghost of a withering memory." Without acknowledging the god before me, I turned my back to the seething statue, walking away._

_"GILGAMESH! Do not forget who created you! You will secure humanity for us! Failure will not be tolerated!" The booming voice violently echoed throughout the building, shaking loose debris and cracking the walls. I chose to ignore the raging deity. They held no power over me, nor did I recognize their authority. They had already lost that the moment they created me, too weak to exert their will over the people themselves. I had no need to associate myself with weaklings a failures. The age of the Gods was at its end._

_Making my way down the wide steps outside of the temple, I was stopped by the presence of a being. It was a disgusting clay monster wearing the appearance of a beautiful human. The idea of some clod of mud daring to assume a form of beauty enraged my very core. Beautiful things in life must not be tainted by those undeserving, those fakers. With a sneer, I address the earth being._

_"Step aside, you disgusting clod of mud, your very appearance is an insult on top of your irreverence to your king." I practically spat the words at the creature._

_"Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, I have been sent by the gods to punish your insolence." The androgynous tones of the monster held no emotion in them, yet I could tell it wasn't completely telling the truth._

_"The only insolence I see, is that the gods believe they can punish me. Therefore, you shall die as restitution for this act of impertinence." I glared condescendingly down at the clay monster before me._

_"Very well, if you wish to fight, then so be it." The monster shifted its stance, but didn't move, intently watching me._

_"It is fitting that you'll allow your king the first strike!" I cried out gleefully as I leapt towards my enemy, bare hands ready to kill. _

_The humanoid creature simply nodded before leaping towards me as well._

o-o

I awoke to the feeling of fingers tenderly stroking my head. The back of my head throbbed mildly, but was offset by the warm softness of my pillow. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see a book cover. _I am Me: a Tale of Two Souls. _A small delicate hand held the cover, its partner running its fingers through my hair. The sounds of metal clashing nearby pulled me back fully into consciousness. Blinking, I turned my head to the side.

A pair of redheads were lightly sparring under the glow of the moonlight. Laughter rang out as the smaller one was sent tumbling after her attack was redirected by the taller one. I turned my head back up to see the book had moved. A pair of amber eyes gazed down at me, flickering with curiosity.

"How do you feel?" Her hand never stopped playing with my short red hair, running freely through it.

"Not too bad I suppose. Although I do wonder what you're doing here." I replied casually.

"Oh, I just thought my lap might be more comfortable than a rock pillow." It must have been a trick of the light, but I could swear her face looked a bit flushed. Besides, that wasn't what I was asking.

"Um, thanks, but I meant what you and Ruby are doing here. If I recall, Pyrrha and I were the only ones here before." Did Pyrrha send for help? No that didn't make sense. If she had, we would've been back at Beacon already.

"Well that's not entirely true." The dark haired Faunus looked away sheepishly. "I actually stayed after bringing Pyrrha here. Ruby had apparently followed us here."

"Then why didn't Pyrrha say anything?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, she didn't know. Ruby and I stayed hidden in the shadows so as not to _disturb_ you two." Her voice was laced a bit of bitterness as she finished her statement. I wonder what had her so annoyed.

"We heard everything, you know. I know it's not right to eavesdrop, but Ruby and I were a bit curious. Out of everyone here, it seems you always have the most to hide, and we're always curious to learn more about you. For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. I know it wasn't that long ago I was the one reprimanding you over trust." Her small smile was both apologetic and warm.

I returned it, waving off the issue. My lids felt heavier as I felt her warm breath swept over my face and neck. Her delicate fingers gently massaged my scalp, any traces of pain having long since disappeared.

"Rest some more. I'll wake you when the other two are ready to head back." Her soft voice caressed my mind as I struggled to stay awake for just a moment more.

"We... We need to do some team training. I think we should meet here three times a week to go over team man... team manu... team strategies." My voice slurred to a mumble as I slowly slipped out of consciousness. The last thing I heard was Blake's soothing voice.

"Sure thing. I'll tell them when they're finished. Rest now, Shirou."

-o-

_My body is made of swords,_

_My blood of fire, my heart of glass._

_I have survived countless battles,_

_Not even once retreating,_

_Not even once victorious._

_No longer alone,_

_Forging iron on a hill of infinite swords._

_Thus, for the sake of others,_

_My whole life was, the Unlimited Blade Works_

_-Shirou Emiya_

-o-

AN: Hey! My longest chapter yet! Although given the length of the other chapters, not really much of a statement, and no one gives a sh-

Not much to say about the hospital scene other than that will be no harem. By harem I mean Shirou reciprocating feelings for multiple girls. Any romance in this fic is meant to be more of a background thing. As of the moment, Shirou isn't romantically interested in any of the girls, but that will slowly change over the next few chapters as I move the plot ahead by months instead of days and weeks.

The device Ozpin gave Shirou is just a plot device haha get it? to enable Shirou to participate in the upcoming Vytal tournament, but it may come in handy later too.

In regards to the scene with Shirou and Saber, she does have a material form inside UBW, but has nothing to sustain her outside of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean her influence doesn't extend out there. I plan to have some one on one training sessions between the two at some point.

Ooh finally Pyrrha gets a little development! It doesn't count as crying if no tears escape the eyes! I might have made her seem a little selfish, but I was trying more to show that her main drive came from herself. The fight scene was a little wonky…. That is all.

The sparring bit between Shirou and Pyrrha I tried to make longer and more detailed, but I'm still not sure if it reads out too quickly like the fight scenes in the first chapter. Now you may have noticed I drew attention to beginner mistakes made by Shirou, then proceeded to show him almost beating her. That's not to say she's weak. She's plenty strong. It's just that Shirou's ability to read her movements and strategies allowed him to overcome their difference in skill, mostly by taking her by surprise over and over again. The Shirou from Fuyuki would have been defeated by her rather quickly, regardless of the skills and powers he inherited from Archer unless he deployed UBW or powerful high ranking noble phantasms….which he wouldn't use in a normal spar.

I'm actually a bit excited about the Gilgamesh dream sequence. I pull the majority of my Fate knowledge off of the very informative wiki, so it'll be fun trying to describe the epic battle between Gil and the new figure.

This chapter took quite a while to get released. It's due to a mixture of timing, schoolwork, and writer's block. I might have a general idea of how the story will go, but not the middle bits, which can be the hardest parts to write. With that in mind, I, again, don't really know when I'll pump out another chapter, but I do occasionally write updates on my profile if I do end up getting one of those 1-3k word writing spurts, so if you for some reason actually want to keep up to date with this fic, you can check that out.

_Madgamer2k7 out._


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